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Woman “bullied” on plane over budget seating trick

<p dir="ltr">A young woman has recalled a flight from hell when she was “bullied” by a couple who were trying to utilise a seating hack that went viral on TikTok. </p> <p dir="ltr">The solo traveller took to Reddit to recount the story and ask social media users if she was in the wrong for her action. </p> <p dir="ltr">The woman began by saying she usually pays more to select her plane seat ahead of time, but a medical emergency on another plane had her waiting on standby and left with no option other than to sit in a middle seat.</p> <p dir="ltr">When she was finally able to board, she was greeted by a couple who had purchased both the window and aisle seats in a bid to have more space, utilising a travel “trick” that has been popular on TikTok.</p> <p dir="ltr">The method, which has been dubbed the 'poor man's business class', usually leaves travellers with an empty middle seat and more space, and few travellers opt to pick a middle seat. </p> <p dir="ltr">“When I got to my row the man and woman were chatting and sharing a snack... it was obvious they were together. I mentioned to the man that I'm in the middle, and he got up to let me in,” the unsuspecting traveller wrote on Reddit. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I asked them if they would prefer to sit together, I said I was totally okay with that. The woman reacted rudely to this and said ‘you're not supposed to be sitting here anyway’.”</p> <p dir="ltr">After noticing how the plane was full, she offered to show the pair her new ticket with the correct seat number on it.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She flicked her hand at my ticket and made a disgusted sound. I offered again if they wanted to sit together to which she didn't reply, her partner said it's okay and... made some small talk,” she continued. </p> <p dir="ltr">The man’s girlfriend then interrupted their conversation to ask,”'Did you use one of those third party websites to book your flight? It's so frustrating when people cheap out to inconvenience others.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The American woman explained that she had booked her flight directly and she had been placed on standby like everyone else and didn't choose the middle seat - she was assigned it.</p> <p dir="ltr">She then tried to keep the peace by refusing to engage with the furious woman. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I was so done with her attitude, I put my headphones on and attempted to do my own thing,” she explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">But the “entitled” girlfriend wasn't letting it go, as the woman explained, “This woman kept reaching over me and tapping her partner and trying to talk to him in a way that was super intrusive.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I could tell even her partner was trying to engage her less so that she would hopefully stop, but she didn't.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think they tried to pull that tactic where they don't sit together on purpose...hoping no one will sit between them. But on full flights it doesn't work. And even so - it's not the other person's fault.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The traveller's post was met with hundreds of comments slamming the girlfriend’s behaviour, as one person wrote, “It's like a toddler having a tantrum.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“She was disappointed and a total a**hole. Gross entitled people,” another added. </p> <p dir="ltr">Another person applauded the traveller’s level-headed behaviour, writing, “Wow! You are my hero for keeping it classy - I’m afraid I would not have been as kind as you.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Travel Trouble

"Rest in love": All Blacks legend and Dancing with the Stars winner dies at 55

<p>The sports and entertainment communities are mourning the loss of former All Blacks hooker and <em>Dancing with the Stars</em> winner Norm Hewitt, who has passed away at the age of 55.</p> <p>Hewitt, a beloved figure both on and off the rugby field, succumbed to a lengthy battle with motor neurone disease, as confirmed by his family in a heartfelt statement.</p> <p>"Although rugby dominated his early life, he established a thriving human relations consultancy after retirement, and his services were much in demand both nationally and internationally," his family shared. "He walked confidently in both Māori and Pākehā worlds and was a particular role model for troubled youth, citing his own background, and offering inspirational teachings that one’s present life need not be one’s future."</p> <p>Hewitt leaves behind his wife Arlene and their two children, Elizabeth and Alexander. Born and raised in Pōrangahau, southern Hawke’s Bay, Hewitt's rugby career was nothing short of illustrious. Over 13 seasons, he played 296 representative matches for Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Wellington, earning 23 caps for the All Blacks. Hewitt was also a pivotal member of the Hurricanes during the formative years of Super Rugby, missing only one match in the first five years.</p> <p>The rugby community has been profoundly affected by Hewitt's passing. Former teammate Ofisa Tonu’u posted a touching tribute on Facebook: "I’m just devastated finding out the news today. I will never forget how you always stuck up for me during the Black Tracker days when no one else would, you always look after all the players and we always followed you into battle. No more pain, brother, you can now rest in Love. Fa’afetai tele lava my uso for having my back as I did yours. I know the other boys will be welcoming you with open arms at the gates. Rest in Love, Normy."</p> <p>Beyond his rugby career, Hewitt transitioned into a public speaker and mentor, focusing heavily on violence prevention programmes and advocacy. He worked with the SPCA as an animal cruelty and anti-violence publicity officer, visiting schools to spread his message. In 2005, Hewitt showcased his versatility by winning the first season of<em> Dancing with the Stars</em> alongside professional dancer Carol-Ann Hickmore.</p> <p>Hewitt's life was not without its struggles. In 1999, he made a public apology for a drunken incident in Queenstown, marking a turning point as he renounced alcohol and dedicated himself to helping others facing similar challenges.</p> <p>The outpouring of tributes was immediate, with The All Blacks expressing their sorrow: “We are saddened by the loss of All Black #938 Norm Hewitt who passed away yesterday in Wellington. Hewitt played 9 Tests and 14 Games between 1993 and 1998. Our thoughts are with Norm’s family and loved ones at this time.”</p> <p>Podcaster Martin Devlin shared his personal experience: “RIP Norm Hewitt. Not a lot of people know how kind & generous this man was. A truly wonderful person. Reached out to me and helped me considerably a long time ago when things were very rough. Love & respect.”</p> <p>Richard Hills echoed the sentiments of many: “This is bloody sad. A sad way to lose a kiwi icon so young. He had a really rough childhood and upbringing and faced it and turned his life around to become not only a rugby legend but also helped others who’d been through similar issues.”</p> <p>Norm Hewitt’s legacy will endure through the lives he touched and the positive change he inspired. His story is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the profound impact one individual can have on the world.</p> <p><em>Image: Radio New Zealand</em></p>

Caring

Christina Applegate's Emmy’s appearance moves audience to tears

<p dir="ltr">Christina Applegate has moved audiences to tears after making a courageous appearance at the Emmy Awards. </p> <p dir="ltr">Applegate announced at the beginning of 2023 that she would be taking a step back from acting after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), with the disease making a drastic impact on her life. </p> <p dir="ltr">Now, the 52-year-old took to the stage, supported by a cane, at the Peacock Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on Monday night, with the crowd rising to their feet in a round of applause. </p> <p dir="ltr">Applegate immediately began to tear up as she leaned on host Anthony Anderson for support, telling the audience, “I’m gonna cry more than I’ve been crying.”</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jOJNgHgKnFs?si=Y8K-e2H8gFq1Pr0u" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr">Keeping her sense of humour, she said to the sea of celebrity faces, “Thank you so much! Oh my God! You’re totally shaming me (and my) disability by standing up.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Applegate presented the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, with the award going to Ayo Edebiri for her role in <em>The Bear</em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">The heartfelt moment of the standing ovation was shared on X, with fans saying, “She deserves that ovation and more.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The iconic actress has been candid about her battle with MS since she was first diagnosed in 2021, keeping her fans updated as her illness progressed. </p> <p dir="ltr">In 2023, Applegate told <em>Vanity Fair</em> that her work on the hit Netflix TV show <em>Dead To Me</em> would be her last as an actor, saying “I can’t even imagine going to set right now.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m probably not going to work on-camera again,” Applegate said at the time, adding that while she loved her cast and crew, working had been a “struggle.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p> </p>

Caring

"This is insane": Woman's intense hotel safety routine divides audiences

<p dir="ltr">A woman has gone viral for the elaborate routine she undergoes every time she checks into a new hotel room. </p> <p dir="ltr">Victoria posted a TikTok of her intense seven-step routine that she undertakes when staying in a hotel, with the video quickly racking up over 14 million views. </p> <p dir="ltr">In the now-viral clip, Victoria starts off by putting the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the doorknob and locking it from the inside.</p> <p dir="ltr">Then, she blocks the peephole with a tissue, jams a washcloth into the deadbolt to "close the gap" and rolls up a bath towel behind the handle to stop anyone opening the door.</p> <p dir="ltr">She also positioned an ironing board against the door to stop it from being able to open, and then used a clothes hanger to clip everything together.</p> <p dir="ltr">After going through the seven step routine, Victoria's comment section was flooded with messages as the video prompted a mixed response. </p> <p dir="ltr">"By the time I do all that, it's morning again," one user wrote, while another simply said, "This is insane."</p> <p dir="ltr">While many of the comments were quick to judge how extensive the safety routine is, others shared their own different security preferences. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I take two portable locks, and a mini camera that links to my phone for when I'm out," one said.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, one person pointed out that Victoria's set-up was a bit of a hazard, saying, "And now imagine trying to get out of that in the dark in a fire in the middle of the night."</p> <p dir="ltr">Another said they had "never stayed in hotels where I felt so unsafe," adding, "Is it an American thing? I am genuinely curious."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

Travel Trouble

Give the gift of luxury on any budget

<p dir="ltr">As the weather starts to warm up, a lot of us are kick starting our summer holiday and Christmas plans. </p> <p dir="ltr">While trips away and what’s on the menu for Christmas lunch are obviously vitally important, it's also good to get a jump on buying Christmas presents for your loved ones. </p> <p dir="ltr">It can be hard to think of a thoughtful gift for that special someone, especially when that person may seemingly have everything. </p> <p dir="ltr">Luckily, L’Occitane’s Christmas gift giving guide has you covered. </p> <p dir="ltr">Featuring everything from affordable stocking fillers, to the most luxurious product packs, the L’Occitane 2023 Christmas collection is certain to have something for everyone. </p> <p dir="ltr">For those looking to really spoil their loved one, they have limited edition sets for the ultimate pamper experience. </p> <p dir="ltr">This year, L’Occitane have three collections on offer, each featuring heavenly scents and full-sized products for $129 each. </p> <p dir="ltr">For those on a tighter budget, or those looking to add in a little extra something special as a stocking filler, L’Occitane’s iconic mini baubles are back for another year. </p> <p dir="ltr">The baubles feature a range of mini products in varying scents for $25, giving each person a chance to fall in love with their new favourite product before committing to a full size version. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ClnauzdvCFO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ClnauzdvCFO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by L’Occitane en Provence | ANZ (@loccitaneanz)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">L’Occitane has a whole range of stocking fillers available, such as hand cream packs, deluxe Christmas crackers, and much more. </p> <p dir="ltr">For those who simply can’t wait until December 25th to unwrap their L’Occitane goodies, the luxury brand has brought back their deluxe Advent Calendars for another year. </p> <p dir="ltr">With both the Classic and Deluxe beauty advent calendars on offer, enjoy a little luxury everyday of December until Christmas Day.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CxIEHK7PDpG/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CxIEHK7PDpG/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by L’Occitane en Provence | ANZ (@loccitaneanz)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">You can feel good about gifting L’Occitane goodies for Chrstmas this year, as the brand continues to make improvements to the materials they choose to package their products in. </p> <p dir="ltr">This year, L’Occitane has reduced the use of single-use materials by a further 8%, as they make it their mission to create a positive impact for both people and the planet. </p> <p dir="ltr">So when it comes to picking the perfect present for your loved ones this festive season, look no further than the luxuries of <a href="https://nz.loccitane.com">L’Occitane</a> to give the gift of indulgence to those who matter most. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

Beauty & Style

Kylie Minogue drops big career news

<p>Kylie Minogue is set to return to TV with her own special that will highlight her incredible career. </p> <p>The iconic singer will feature in British broadcaster ITV's <em>An Audience With… </em>show at The Royal Albert Hall in London. </p> <p>"It's been hard to keep this one a secret... Get ready for an unforgettable evening! 🤩An Audience with Kylie, coming later this year to ITV1 and ITVX," the broadcaster announced to Instagram on Tuesday. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwh-LrdMDE-/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwh-LrdMDE-/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by ITV (@itv)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The show will take place in December and the broadcaster has promised that they will take the special TV event to the "to the next level", according to the <em>Huffington Post</em>.</p> <p>The <em>Can't Get You Out of My Head </em>singer, will perform and chat about her career, and even answer questions from the audience members, including specially invited VIP guests and celebrity superfans.</p> <p>"I'm so excited to announce that I am teaming up with ITV for An Audience with at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall!" she said. </p> <p>"I'll be performing some of my favourite tracks from throughout my career and no doubt answering some surprising questions from the audience. I can't wait to share this moment with you all."</p> <p>The singer will perform some of her top hits including her more recent chart topper <em>Padam Padam </em>and a few favourites from her award-winning back catalogue.</p> <p>This comes just two years after ITV did the special for Adele, which was met with overwhelming success, reaching over 5.4 million viewers during its peak. </p> <p>Tickets for the show will be on sale from September 8.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Country music star's "racist" song divides audience

<p>A popular country music star has been forced to defend his new song and accompanying music video, after many condemned the track for being racist. </p> <p>Jason Aldean's song, titled <em>Try That in a Small Town</em>, soared to number one on the country music charts in the US, before been pulled by Country Music Television after claims it promoted gun violence, vigilantism and lynching: a form of execution frequently committed against African-Americans.</p> <p>The singer, who is known for his conservative views, defended the song, saying it was about, “the feeling of community that I had growing up in where we took care of our neighbours, regardless of difference of background or beliefs”.</p> <p>He also slammed the furore against the song, saying saying the accusations against the track that it is “pro lynching” are “not only meritless but dangerous”.</p> <p>Singer Sheryl Crow called out Aldean posting on Twitter, “There’s nothing small town or American about promoting violence,” and called the song “lame” for its controversial themes. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Jason_Aldean?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jason_Aldean</a> I’m from a small town. Even people in small towns are sick of violence.There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting.</p> <p>This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame <a href="https://t.co/cuOtUO9xjr">https://t.co/cuOtUO9xjr</a></p> <p>— Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SherylCrow/status/1681485292425867264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>The music video for the song prompted a new wave of backlash, as it was filmed outside the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, which is a site that African American man was lynched. </p> <p>A writer for entertainment industry magazine <em><a title="variety.com" href="https://variety.com/2023/music/opinion/jason-aldean-try-that-in-a-small-town-worst-country-song-video-column-1235673177/">Variety</a></em> said it was “the most contemptible country song of the decade” which traded on the “implicit moral superiority of having a limited number of neighbours”.</p> <p>“For Aldean, it’s about how tiny burgs are under the imminent threat of attack from lawless urban marauders who will have to be kept at bay by any means necessary – meaning, pretty explicitly, vigilantism,” wrote its music critic Chris William.</p> <p>He went on to say the video was “dangerous” because it “conflates the act of protesting with violent crime”.</p> <p>In the wake of the criticism, Aldean hit back on his social media accounts, saying people had gone "too far" with their interpretation of the song. </p> <p>He wrote on Twitter, “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it – and there isn’t a single clip that isn’t real news footage – and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music – this one goes too far.”</p> <p>“My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from. And I know that a lot of us in this country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy, where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night, but the desire for it to – that’s what the song is about.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Music

The Super Mario Bros. Movie: don’t watch it for the story but for how it successfully represents gameplay

<p>The first videogame I ever played was the arcade game <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp2aMs38ERY">Donkey Kong</a>. Released in 1981, it took us into a blocky-looking world where a carpenter in overalls raced along platforms and up ladders in a building site to rescue a lady kidnapped by a large ape. Its humble hero, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario">Mario</a>, went on to feature in scores of multi-million dollar grossing games, becoming an icon <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/recentering-globalization">as popular as Mickey Mouse</a>.</p> <p>Having grown up in the 1980s, the new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnGl01FkMMo">Super Mario Bros. Movie</a> meant more to me than the average fantasy animation film. Watching <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKxaYsn_F78">Mario and Donkey Kong have it out</a> on a massive screen – at a resolution so high you can see a single hair or wrinkle on these crisp-looking, toy-like characters – was remarkable.</p> <p>Yet, it felt like the mission of this movie wasn’t just about creating flashy, fleshy cartoon characters or trying to tell a compelling story – it was about doing justice to the feel of these videogames that span decades and are still enjoyed by millions around the world.</p> <h2>A film about jumping</h2> <p>Story-wise, this is another of those PG-rated fantasy comedies that celebrate the 1980s and games culture. There’s a beta male baddy (Bowser, a fire-breathing dragon-turtle hybrid) and his army who must be defeated by a good-hearted guy (Mario) – helped by his brother (Luigi), a strong independent woman (Princess Peach), and a cast of zany allies.</p> <p>But what makes the film worth watching is how it tips its hat to aspects of gameplay.</p> <p>One of its biggest achievements is the unpretentious, funny recreations of moments from the videogames. Sometimes this happens by staging action-packed scenes that are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP-Qduvw9zY">framed from the same perspective as the videogame players</a>. For instance, seeing Mario and Luigi dash through a building site with the camera zoomed out to capture the entire screen from a side perspective is the filmmaker’s nod to the pleasures of platform games.</p> <p>The film also humorously reflects on player experience. Anybody who has enjoyed a Mario game might recall the disappointing feeling of falling down a pit after a failed attempt to reach a high platform. In the movie, Mario is initially inept at all of this. He is put through a funny 1980s montage of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKBlSzMs4o">trial and error</a>, which reminds us how players got the hang of these games.</p> <p>The emphasis on replicating gameplay may be the influence of Japanese games design superstar <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/the-super-mario-bros-movie-shigeru-miyamoto-koji-kondo-nintendo-interview-easter-eggs-1234706449/">Shigeru Miyamoto</a>, the creator of Mario, who co-produced the movie.</p> <p>Where other designers may have attempted to create a “proper” Mario movie by focusing on realism or a more sophisticated story, Miyamoto has long been adamant about seeing videogames <a href="https://shmuplations.com/miyamoto1989/">as toys</a>. Now he has created a true videogame movie.</p> <h2>Games as toys</h2> <p>Approaching games as toys is consistent with the long history of Kyoto-based games company Nintendo. It started back in 1889 producing playing cards, and even <a href="https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/subjects/n-b-block-series">competed with Lego</a> before going on to revolutionise the videogaming medium with titles such as Super Mario Bros. in the early 1980s.</p> <p>In most of Nintendo’s games, the end goal is not necessarily found in the stories – rather, these serve the pleasure of playing. In Super Mario Bros., for example, the damsel-in-distress narrative of Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach merely kicked off a game mostly about jumping.</p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Al_DShXX0">Other Mario adaptations for the big screen</a> have sought to translate gameplay with varying success. Take the 1993 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuXwMHF9y1Y&ab_channel=RottenTomatoesClassicTrailers">Super Mario Bros. live action</a> film, which was critically panned but has gone on to gain cult status. As a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/29/movies/review-film-plumbing-a-video-game-to-its-depths.html">reviewer in the New York Times</a> put it: “This bizarre, special effects-filled movie doesn’t have the jaunty hop-and-zap spirit of the Nintendo video game from which it takes – ahem – its inspiration.”</p> <p>Gone, now, are the days of third-party licensing when cinematic game adaptations were left in the hands of external developers, resulting in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKqFEV9rA1U">output that could look very different</a> to the games themselves – such as Super Mario Bros. Super Show! from the late 1980s. This animated show was not particularly faithful to the games: Mario and Luigi had a different kind of Italian-American accent and a Princess Toadstool. The live-action segments also featured crasser and more adult iterations of the characters.</p> <p>This time, however, Nintendo has worked with Universal Pictures to adapt the game, so the new animated movie is more faithful in brand continuity.</p> <h2>Mario’s most successful cinematic appearance</h2> <p>There are now entire TV series based on story-driven games, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNF27c3-5Qw">whose scripts replicate the game almost verbatim</a>. For instance, the recent hit series The Last of Us saw fans cross-reference scene by scene with the original game.</p> <p>In contrast, the Super Mario Bros. Movie looks like an attempt to make a film that works more like a game. And in spite of a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/apr/09/the-super-mario-bros-movie-review-game-over-for-this-lazy-animated-mess">lukewarm reception from critics</a>, the new film stands to be the most successful cinematic Mario appearance yet.</p> <p>While the film has been downplayed by some as a “marketing machine” to sell Nintendo toys, critics overlook the fact that its success might be connected to how popular these toys already are. The games have <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/7/23589075/nintendo-switch-q3-2023-earnings-sales-console-third-bestselling">sold in the 100 millions</a>, which may explain the film’s ability to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/super-mario-bros-movie-box-office-b2317192.html">smash box-office records</a>.</p> <p>This film will have gameplaying fans poring over frames to identify references to the games and “Easter eggs” – messages hidden for knowing watchers to look out for. Older and new fans alike will recognise <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otZ-D3OJeW4">the GameCube jingle in Luigi’s ringtone</a>, and enjoy vintage gaming items such as the “hammer power-up” that are on sale in the film’s antique shop.</p> <p>Many viewers will also recognise the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QilqLbynOsY">iconic musical motifs from the Super Mario Bros. levels</a>, and how the maps are reminiscent of Super Mario World. They will spot cutesy fan-favourites <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o6yvb5E2Sw">Yoshi</a> and Toad.</p> <p>The Super Mario Bros. Movie may indeed work to re-market Nintendo’s four-decade back catalogue of gaming classics to both nostalgic parents and kids. But in being driven by the very success of gaming culture, it defies critics looking at it as “just another movie”. Instead, they should see it as an extension of the videogame, and a celebration of how this expansive world makes people feel.</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-super-mario-bros-movie-dont-watch-it-for-the-story-but-for-how-it-successfully-represents-gameplay-203592" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Universal Pictures</em></p>

Movies

New book points to Queen Elizabeth's true cause of death

<p dir="ltr">When Queen Elizabeth died, her <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/queen-s-official-death-certificate-released" target="_blank" rel="noopener">official death certificate</a> read that she had died of “old age”.</p> <p dir="ltr">But now a biographer has claimed that the late monarch was battling a form of myeloma, bone marrow cancer, before her death.</p> <p dir="ltr">In British author Gyles Brandreth's new book, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, he claims that he “heard” the Queen had cancer in the lead-up to her death, and that she kept it to herself after Prince Philip died.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I had heard that the Queen had a form of myeloma — bone marrow cancer — which would explain her tiredness and weight loss and those ‘mobility issues’ we were often told about during the last year or so of her life,” an extract from the book published in The Daily Mail reads.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The most common symptom of myeloma is bone pain, especially in the pelvis and lower back, and multiple myeloma is a disease that often affects the elderly.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Currently, there is no known cure, but treatment — including medicines to help regulate the immune system and drugs that help prevent the weakening of the bones — can reduce the severity of its symptoms and extend the patient’s survival by months or two to three years.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Brandreth was a friend of the late Prince Philip and a former politician, and explained that the Queen wanted to be by her husband’s side in his final moments.</p> <p dir="ltr">She, however, considered it her duty to continue despite her “intense personal grief” after Prince Philip’s death.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sunrise royal editor Rob Jobson said that the bone cancer rumours were upsetting but the truth of the matter is that they were going around for quite some time as the Queen’s health deteriorated.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She was clearly suffering in that build-up.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think even Brandreth himself wrote that [cancer] was what he heard, he’s not actually saying it was definite.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But the details were swirling around for a very long time and that was one of the main things that was reoccurring.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The rumours continue just months after royal biographer <a href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/royal-biographer-hints-at-queen-s-cause-of-death" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lady Colin Campbell</a>, who is most well-known for her books about Princess Diana and the Queen Mother, also claimed that the Queen was suffering from a serious bone condition.</p> <p dir="ltr">Lady Campbell, however, wouldn’t reveal “the word that accurately conveys her diagnosis” out of respect for her “dignity and privacy”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“If she wants to reveal that word, or her advisors wish to reveal it, that is up to them. I don’t think one needs to use the word to get across the point that I think most people will be able to pick up, that this is a really serious situation,” Lady Campbell said in a video just prior to announcing the monarch’s passing.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The condition has been induced, in part, according to people who know her well, has been created by the tremendous stress to which she has been subjected over the last three years.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Can you imagine an older woman, as her life is winding down, and she is hoping to enjoy the last few years of her life in good health, being bombarded by the tremendous abuse to which she and the monarchy have been subjected?"</p> <p dir="ltr">She went on to say she had tried to warn people that the Queen was “far more ill than they thought she was” over the few months prior to Her Majesty’s death.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I have on several occasions in the last few weeks, if not months, made the point that she had been affected to her bones. I used that repeatedly to get across the point that what she was suffering from was a malady of the bones,” she continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There are two maladies of the bones, one is more painful than the other. Fortunately the Queen’s malady, although it falls in the same category and condition of the more painful one, has been the less painful one.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It has been restrictive, and I will not go into the medical treatments she has been receiving. I have previously indicated that her bruising was due to cannulas and I have left it at that.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Caring

Trevor Noah brought a new perspective to TV satire - as well as a whole new audience

<p>After seven years of hosting <a href="https://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Show on Comedy Central</a>, a hit comedy show produced in the US but with global reach, South African born comedian Trevor Noah has announced <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/29/entertainment/trevor-noah-daily-show/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plans to leave</a> and focus on his stand-up comedy. During his tenure as host of the political satire series, which he took over from the revered <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jon-stewart/?sh=35f2ad793fbc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jon Stewart</a>, Noah has offered important takes on issues in the US – and the world.</p> <p>Considering that the late-night television satire scene in the US remains <a href="https://theconversation.com/trevor-noah-is-leaving-the-daily-show-how-did-he-fare-191699" target="_blank" rel="noopener">populated by white men</a>, Noah has offered unique “black” African insights into issues that affect black Americans. He has also been lucid in talking about issues that have an effect on Africa and Africans. Noah’s knowledge of Africa and African politics has helped him demonstrate that there are few differences between America, lauded as one of the greatest democracies in the world, and global south countries that Trump once called “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcMFmoTCdcU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shithole</a>” states.</p> <p>Noah’s approach attracted more African Americans than was the case during Stewart’s tenure. A 2017 study <a href="https://decider.com/2017/10/16/trevor-noah-tds-nielsen-ratings-analysis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">by Nielsen Media Research</a> showed that during Stewart’s final season, 84.5% of the viewers were white. Noah lost 40% of the white viewers and gained 16% more black viewers than his predecessor.</p> <p>He spoke with great clarity on issues such as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/black-lives-matter-protests-are-shaping-how-people-understand-racial-inequality-178254" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Black Lives Matter</a> protests against racism, discrimination and racial inequity experienced by black people, the turbulent Trump presidency, the rise in white supremacy and the global COVID pandemic. By commenting on these different issues, he was able to bring home the inequalities that continue to be seen and experienced in the US.</p> <p>Noah has defied the odds, offered a youthful, “black” perspective and drawn in a new audience. He will be a hard act to follow - which is what people said of his predecessor.</p> <h2>Noah’s particular past</h2> <p>Growing up and coming of age in South Africa has undoubtedly shaped Noah’s worldview. In his book <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29780253-born-a-crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Born a Crime</a> (2016), and in his numerous stand-up comedy shows, he set out what it meant growing up in apartheid South Africa, with its white-minority rule and policies of racial segregation. Because his father was white and his mother black, he could not have a normal childhood in which he could grow up in the same home as both his parents. It was legally impossible. the <a href="https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv01538/04lv01828/05lv01829/06lv01884.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Immorality Act</a> prohibited sex between people of different races.</p> <p>Noah drew on his experiences in South Africa in his role as chief anchor of The Daily Show. In particular he was able to show the striking parallels between present day America and apartheid-era South Africa. He explains this reality in one of the <a href="https://www.ccn.com/trevor-noah-frightening-us-south-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">episodes</a> of the show at the height of the global coronavirus pandemic:</p> <blockquote> <p>Living in this period in America, as much as I hate to say it, a lot of the things that I’m seeing are similar to what we experienced in South Africa. Mass unemployment, a government that doesn’t seem to have the best interests of the people at heart. People who are getting angrier and angrier.</p> </blockquote> <p>He explained in another <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FPrJxTvgdQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">episode</a> of the show during the run-up to the 2016 US elections that</p> <blockquote> <p>as an African, there’s just something familiar about Trump that makes me feel at home.</p> </blockquote> <p>He went on to talk about striking resemblances between former US president Donald Trump and several former African presidents such as Jacob Zuma of South Africa, Idi Amin of Uganda and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.</p> <h2>Comedy and political satire</h2> <p>I argue in a <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-81969-9_3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">book chapter</a> on political satire that the comic offers important ways of criticising those in power. During his tenure at The Daily Show, Noah has used comedy and satire to discuss diverse pressing contemporary issues, in the US and globally. As he has <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-08-27/daily-show-trevor-noah-emmys-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>I believe in the importance of jokes. I will never lose that. I always tell people, ‘Jokes are what made me’. That’s how I see the world.</p> </blockquote> <p>Before joining The Daily Show, Noah was an established stand-up comedian. In South Africa, he was known for satirising Jacob Zuma during his presidency for corruption and his role in state capture.</p> <p>Comedy has allowed him to deal with difficult subjects in a lighthearted way. He has <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/29/entertainment/trevor-noah-daily-show/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> that:</p> <blockquote> <p>I’ve loved trying to find a way to make people laugh, even when the stories are particularly s—, even on the worst days.</p> </blockquote> <p>Noah has infused the comic into his anchoring of The Daily Show and managed to tackle controversial topics in a cheerful yet hard-hitting way.</p> <h2>Poking holes in American exceptionalism</h2> <p>Being a foreigner in the US, Noah has the necessary distance to offer sobering analyses of current affairs in that country. Through his examination of the Trump presidency and the Black Lives Matter movement, he has shown that the idea of America being “exceptional” is an illusion.</p> <p>At the height of the Black Lives Matter protests in the US, he took to The Daily Show to give a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb4Bg8mu2aM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grim yet poignant monologue</a> about race in the US. Noah traced the chain of events that went beyond the killing of George Floyd, a black man who was suffocated to death on the side of a road by a group of white policemen, to show the precarity of black lives in contemporary America.</p> <p>The monologue is sharp, knowledgeable and nuanced in its explanation of what was happening in the US. He grounded it on historical events to show that nothing was new. The US was not exceptional. The US democracy was as imperfect as that of the many countries that it had preached to for many years.</p> <p>It has taken a late-night host from outside the US to point to the failings of the US and its democracy.</p> <h2>Late night TV without Noah</h2> <p>The late-night circuit will be different without Noah, the only black and African host of a late-night show in the US. Because of his intimate knowledge of global popular culture, he has had a youthful viewership.</p> <p>His peers do not have the same perspective or viewership. If Noah replacing Stewart was seen as a daunting exercise, filling the shoes of Noah might prove to be even more challenging.</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/trevor-noah-brought-a-new-perspective-to-tv-satire-as-well-as-a-whole-new-audience-191800" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Facebook</em></p>

Five tips for successful and safe solo travel

<p>Planning an adventure on your own? Here’s your guide to friend-making, risk-taking and positive thinking while you’re off discovering yourself.</p> <p><strong>Safety</strong></p> <p>Unless you positively invite danger – i.e. strolling around a pitchblack park at 4am with headphones on – travelling alone isn’t actually that risky. The biggest peril is being taken for a ride. Literally, in the case of taxi drivers: always ask for an estimated fare before setting off. Otherwise, try to never look like a tourist; instead, exude assurance.</p> <p>Carry ID and always keep a back-up. Ensure that someone else knows your itinerary and commit to regular contact with them.</p> <p><strong>Plan</strong></p> <p>Being alone means you can’t use your cohort’s phone when yours runs out of juice, or rely on them should you lose your wallet.</p> <p>Put emergency systems in place: write down key numbers (friends, hotels, embassies, emergency services), have change for phone boxes and always keep some back-up money in your bag or, better still, in a locker.</p> <p><strong>Eating</strong></p> <p>Solomangarephobia. That’s the official, medical term for a fear of eating alone – a fear that many single travellers have. If you can get over your fear, it is very possible to enjoy the experience.</p> <p>Bring a book to dodge boredom, sit at counters to be less conspicuous or use the opportunity to practice your French or Filipino on a waiter. And scoff all the bread yourself.</p> <p><strong>Making friends</strong></p> <p>This is another common and very valid worry when travelling alone: what if no-one likes me? Acquiring new companions is always easier than feared, but still a scary proposition. It helps to look approachable – smile at people, have open body language and lose the sunglasses. Read something interesting to spark conversation, or ask strangers a question.</p> <p>More hands-on tactics include visiting expatriate bars, joining tours or using apps designed to help people make friends, such as Meetup.</p> <p><strong>Enjoy it!</strong></p> <p>Without realising it, most of us humans are very co-dependent: we worry whether our partner or friend is having a good time, and always balance their needs in decision-making.</p> <p>The joy of solo travel is that you can be entirely selfish: walk at your preferred pace, eat what and when you want, see the sights that interest you, use the entire hotel wardrobe. If you want to skip that museum of tractor history, you can. Take time to appreciate your independence and revel in that freedom.</p> <p>But, however well you plan in advance, things will go wrong. Missed trains, delayed planes, lost luggage, whatever. The trick is not to over-stress it; roll with the punches, laugh at it all, and draw up a new plan. Who knows: maybe Plan B will work out better anyway?</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/travel/activities/five-tips-successful-and-safe-solo-travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.</em></p>

Travel Tips

Bridgerton – how period dramas made audiences hate the corset

<p>When you think of a corset, you might imagine period drama dames sucking in as they cling onto a bedpost as a feisty lady’s maid aggressively laces them in. Nextflix’s hot Regency inspired drama Bridgerton features similar such tortuous scenes.</p> <p>In the run up to the show’s second season, Simone Ashley, who plays the new heroine Kate Sharma, complained to Glamour Magazine about the <a href="https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/simone-ashley-bridgerton-interview-2022">horrors of wearing a corset</a>. She claimed that her corset caused her “a lot of pain” and “changed her body”.</p> <p>In the first season, Prudence Featherington (played by Bessie Carter) was tight-laced into a corset. Prudence’s mother urges her daughter on: “I was able to squeeze my waist into the size of an orange-and-a-half when I was Prudence’s age”. Rather unnecessary, when regency gowns fall from an under-bust empire line, which obscures the waist. Unlike their later Victorian counterparts, regency corsets focused on enhancing a lady’s assets, not shrinking her waist.</p> <p>This scene is ubiquitous in period dramas, from Elizabeth Swan fainting in Pirates of the Caribbean, to Rose DeWitt Bukater unable to breath in Titanic, and, of course, Mammy’s iconic line, “Just hold on, and suck in!”, as Scarlet O’Hara clings to a bedpost in Gone with the Wind. It may be on screen shorthand for the restricted lives of historical women, but it stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of historical corsets and women alike.</p> <p>After centuries of women (and some men) wearing corsets to support and shape the body, it was Victorian men who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNwTqanp0Aw">taught us to hate corsets</a>. Corset-related health issues were a myth, constructed by doctors, to promote their own patriarchal perspectives. So, you might be surprised to hear that period dramas are perpetuating Victorian misogyny.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FZ7r2OVu1ss?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p><strong>Medicine, misogyny, and the corset</strong></p> <p>The list of medical complaints that 19th-century doctors attributed to the corset seem unending. Constipation, pregnancy complications, breast cancer, postpartum infection and tuberculosis were all blamed on the corset. One Victorian doctor, Benjamin Orange Flower, author of the 1892 pamphlet <a href="https://archive.org/details/fashionsslaves00flow">Fashion’s Slaves</a>, claimed that “if women will continue this destructive habit, the race must inevitably deteriorate”.</p> <p>As science has developed, the medical root of these illnesses has been identified, and the corset’s culpability disproved. The corset offers an example of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/nov/13/the-female-problem-male-bias-in-medical-trials">gender bias within medical research</a>. The many ailments of <a href="https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discover/2016/04/22/inside-georges-breeches-the-health-of-george-iv/">George IV</a>, one of the many men to wear a corset in the 19th century, were never blamed on his corset wearing.</p> <p>Some corsets were even specifically designed to be healthy and supportive. Lingerie company Gossards published <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Corsets_from_a_Surgical_Viewpoint.html?id=hztGtwAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">Corsets from a Surgical Perspective</a> in 1909, which promoted the flexibility and supportive possibilities of the corset, which could “preserve the lines demanded by fashion, but without discomfort or injury”.</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/04/file-20220330-5868-a1x92v.jpg" alt="Regency stays sought to shape women’s breasts by separating and lifting them. V&A" width="754" height="1005" /></p> <p><em>Regency stays sought to shape women’s breasts by separating and lifting them. Image: <a href="https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O138889/stays-unknown/?carousel-image=2010EE8174">V&A</a></em></p> <p>But the hourglass shape of the late 19th-century period was not what women of the regency desired. They were only interested in their breasts, as <a href="https://www.yalebooks.co.uk/display.asp?K=9780300218725">Hilary Davidson has shown</a>. Breasts needed to be lifted and separated into two round orbs. Regency corsets (or “stays” as they were known) were often <a href="https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O138889/stays-unknown/">short, always soft, and never heavily boned</a>. Their purpose was bust support, never restriction. I wonder what regency women would have thought of modern bras with straps that pinch and underwire that rubs.</p> <p>Historical corsets were ingenious, light and bendy. Whalebone (which is baleen from the mouth of a whale, and is not actual bone) is wonderfully flexible, and moulds to the body beneath it – and many corsets were simply reinforced with cotton cording. Corsets reduced back pain from bad posture and <a href="https://museum.maidstone.gov.uk/staff-pick-pregnancy-corset/">had expanding portions for pregnancy</a>.</p> <p><strong>Historical myth making</strong></p> <p>The problem then in the depiction of corsets in period dramas is not “historical accuracy”, an idea <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br_tGCadJPE">widely debunked by historians</a>, including Bridgerton’s own <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/modern/period-dramas-should-not-be-judged-on-historical-accuracy-say-historians/">historical advisor</a>. Bridgerton’s costumes are joyously reminiscent of designer <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/80018036">George Halley</a>’s highly embellished and brightly coloured empire line fashion designs from the 1960s. Bridgerton’s costumes are historically inspired fantasy.</p> <p>Bridgerton is to Regency England what Game of Thrones is to the Wars of the Roses, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is a fantastical reimagining, creatively inspired by the past. The idea that its costumes should be “historically accurate”, or that such an aspiration is even possible, is not what is at stake here.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qYNCws-a6CQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>This is an issue of historical fallacy. Women of the past had agency over their bodies and how they were dressed. They were clever about how they achieved the fashionable proportions, padding out the <a href="https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O354882/bustle-pad-unknown/">hips</a> and <a href="https://risdmuseum.org/art-design/collection/bust-improver-6003412">bust</a>, rather than reducing the waist. Like the show’s famed dressmaker, Madame Delacroix, many of the professionals dressing them were themselves women. We strip away that agency and ingenuity when we assume historical women were passive dolls, dressed up and cinched in by a patriarchal society.</p> <p>For historical women, corsets were a support garment, which allowed them to follow the fashionable silhouette without having to diet, exercise, or have cosmetic surgery. It would be a refreshing change to see period dramas embrace this feminist history of the corset, instead of falling back on a misogynistic stereotype.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180267/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/serena-dyer-1127384">Serena Dyer</a>, Lecturer in History of Design and Material Culture, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/de-montfort-university-1254">De Montfort University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/bridgerton-how-period-dramas-made-audiences-hate-the-corset-180267">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: @bridgertonnetflix (Instagram)</em></p>

Beauty & Style

Kirstie Alley slammed over deleted Ukraine tweet

<p>Ballroom dancing champion and former Dancing With the Stars contestant Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who’s been posting live updates from inside war-torn Ukraine, has called out Kirstie Alley for tweeting that she doesn’t know what’s “real” and “fake” about Russia invading his home country.</p> <p>Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who’s been posting live updates from Ukraine has called out Kirstie Alley for tweeting she doesn’t know what’s “real” and “fake” about Russia invading his home country.</p> <p>“I don’t know what’s real or what is fake in this war. So I won’t be commenting. I’ll pray instead,” Alley wrote in a since-deleted tweet.</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/New-Project-3.jpg" alt="" width="585" height="503" /></p> <p>Chmerkovskiy then posted a screenshot of the tweet, writing, “Dear Kirstie, We haven’t spoken in a while, but I clearly remember being right next to you while you were organising trucks of aid during hurricane Sandy and I remember all that you were saying to me about situations where innocent are suffering.”</p> <p>“That same energy is needed right now.”</p> <p>He added, “No one needs your prayer if you don’t know what’s real or fake.”</p> <p>The US Dancing With the Stars alum has been in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, as Russia’s attacks on the country continue.</p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Arial; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">“I’m safe,” he assured fans on Friday. “We haven’t been told to move, and I’m just following instructions. That’s all I can say.” He also shared that citizens are “being mobilised” and “the whole country is being called to go to war.”</p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Arial; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">It’s unclear if he was including himself in that, but it’s unlikely as he became a US citizen in 2019. The pro dancer’s wife Peta Murgatroyd who’s also a <em style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important;">DWTS</em> alum pleaded on social media for his safe return.</p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Arial; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">Meanwhile, Alley took down the tweet and posted instead, “I’m sorry that I’m not an expert on APPARENTLY EVERYTHING. like some of you jack wagons. It’s OK to admit you don’t know things.”</p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Arial; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">She added, “OMG people are obsessed with hatred. they wait to pounce like rabid dogs no matter what is said. They will TWIST any words to fit their hateful agendas. I think these type of people are the saddest people on Earth.”</p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Arial; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;">However, it only took a few days before she was posting links to her 1.5 million followers of places they can donate to help Ukraine.</p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Arial; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;"> </p> <p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #323338; font-family: Roboto, Arial; background-color: #ffffff; outline: none !important;"><em>Images: Twitter & Getty </em></p>

News

Man who helped his father die finds out his fate

<p><strong><em>Warning: This article contains mentions of suicide which may be distressing to some readers</em></strong>.</p> <p>After a lengthy battle against aggressive bowel cancer, in May 2021, Colin Stratton decided he'd had enough.</p> <p>Just a few days shy of his 81st birthday, the loving man asked his family to do something for him.</p> <p>Colin, along with his late wife, had been long term supporters of the voluntary euthanasia bill and members of Dying with Dignity.</p> <p>On May 24th, Colin visited his GP and asked for a suicide pill in order to die on his own terms.</p> <p>When the doctor hold him the paperwork would take up to two weeks, he informed his GP he would simply take matters into his own hands.</p> <p>Impaired from extensive chemotherapy, Colin was unable to complete the task of ending his life by himself.</p> <p>Instead, he asked his 54-year-old son Glenn to help him. Glenn initially refused.</p> <p>“Don’t make me make a bloody mess of it, I can’t do it by myself,” Colin told the middle of his three children.</p> <p>Glenn and his father exchanged "I love yous", and Glenn completed one last task for his father.</p> <p>“The psychological pressure on you must have been enormous,” Victorian Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said in a renewed hearing on Wednesday.</p> <p>“You finally pulled the trigger spontaneously out of love and respect for his wishes,” she said.</p> <p>Glenn explained to the court that his father had always done everything he could for his family, and in return they would've done anything for him.</p> <p>His family are all supportive of his actions, as they saw the impact Colin's illness had on the last years of his life.</p> <p>“They also understand how important it was for him to be able to end his life on his own terms when the pain and burden of illness became too great for him,” Justice Hollingworth said.</p> <p>“They describe your actions in helping your father achieve his wish as loving, courageous and selfless.”</p> <p>Glenn Stratton was initially charged with murder after confessing his actions to police, and he spent 46 days behind bars, causing him to miss his father's funeral.</p> <p>Glenn pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his father's suicide, and Justice Hollingworth declared there would be no benefit to keeping him in jail.</p> <p>He was instead ordered to undergo mandatory counselling.</p> <p>Mr Stratton's family have said they hope voluntary euthanasia will become more widely available so other families don't have to go through the same thing.</p> <p><strong><em>If you or a member of your family need help in a crisis, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.</em></strong></p> <p><em>Image credit: 7News</em></p>

Legal

5 minutes with author P J McKay

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">5 minutes with the Author</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, <em>OverSixty</em> asks book writers about their literary habits and preferences. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Next in the series is <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.pjmckayauthor.com/" target="_blank">P J McKay</a>, a novelist and mum-of-three based in Auckland. After training and working as a food scientist, McKay began writing while undertaking her Masters in Creative Writing at the University of Auckland. During her studies, McKay was inspired by her travels through former Yugoslavia to pen her debut novel, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Telling Time</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. After winning the 2020 First Pages Prize, McKay’s novel is now available.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">OverSixty</span> </em><span style="font-weight: 400;">sat down with McKay to chat about representing New Zealand’s Croatian community, her current reads, and the role cooking played in her novel.</span></p> <p><strong>O60: What book(s) are you reading right now?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My current book on the go is <em>Betty</em> by Tiffany McDaniel — insights into the Cherokee Indian culture are an added bonus and despite the tough themes I’m enjoying cheering this resilient young woman on.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And I have just finished two novels:</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Crazy Love</em> by Rosetta Allan — A love story with a twist. A triumph of love conquering adversity. A no-holes barred insight in the realities of supporting our mentally unwell. This is Rosetta’s third novel. She manages to inject humour into what’s a tough subject to tackle and never allows the story to wallow.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And for something much lighter, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Take me Home</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by Karly Lane — transports the reader from Australia to Scotland. A feel-good story with a dash of romance. </span></p> <p><strong>O60: Does your training in food science influence your writing in any way?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Great question! There are a few food descriptions peppered through <em>The Telling Time</em>. My love of cooking (and consuming food!) has most definitely influenced this. Some reviewers have noted it as a bonus to be transported by these descriptions. Any reference to food is of course relevant to the era and/or the setting but given the aroma, taste or even just the sight of food transports us to different settings it can be a useful and fun tool to employ: think Greece and Mediterranean dishes, or traditional Australasian sweet treats — lamingtons for example — or food which is typical in Croatia, such as <em>črostule</em>, <em>njoki</em>, <em>špek</em> or the local wine on Korčula, <em>Pošip</em>. As an author I invite the reader to use all their senses when imagining my characters in scene. If I get their taste buds watering then that’s a bonus. </span></p> <p><strong>O60: How did you start writing historical fiction?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s the genre which I enjoy most as a reader and my background roles in research were also very helpful. The nugget for this novel came from my own experience when backpacking in the late 1980s tied in with my interest in the immigrant experience and for <em>The Telling Time</em>, the Croatian diaspora. I also wanted the novel to encompass the mother/daughter relationship, hence the dual timeline that includes the late 1950s and 1989. It’s scary to think that these two eras now count as historical! When researching for a novel like this it means going back even further in time. <em>The Telling Time</em> references events from the early 20</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">th</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Century, WWIII, and the events that followed afterward, particularly in the former Yugoslavia. I love that historical fiction often gifts the reader information they didn’t previously know. This for me is the joy of historical fiction writing; finding those facts to thread through the fiction to ensure the ‘world of the novel’ is credible. </span></p> <p><strong>O60: <em>The Telling Time</em> was inspired by your travels and the connections you made with the local Croatian community. How did it feel to represent this community with your novel? </strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I feel privileged to have been privy to stories from the Croatian community and delighted to shine some light on what makes this group unique, but also what unites their stories with other immigrant groups. It is always tricky finding the balance when representing a community that is not your own lived experience. For me, it was important to observe and listen at the local Dalmatian club when attending club nights and events. There were excellent resources to draw on at the club — their cultural museum and language tutor who checked my use of Croatian words/phrases in the novel — and having the novel reviewed by Dr Nina Nola from the University of Auckland’s English department was another essential step. Nina’s mother immigrated to New Zealand from Hvar in the 1950s. This is a novel, and therefore a work of fiction, but staying true to the culture and customs is an essential component and the feedback from readers of Croatian heritage suggests I have succeeded in getting the balance and details right. Of course, when Croatian publishers Znanje d.o. bought the translation rights for the novel earlier this year (to be published there in June 2022) this was a further seal of approval. I felt both proud and delighted that I would soon be able to gift copies of the translated novel to the club. </span></p> <p><strong>O60: What book or books do you think are underrated?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s a curly question! <em>The Lost Lights of St Kilda</em> by Elisabeth Gifford is a gentle historic novel, published last year which I thoroughly enjoyed but don’t hear a lot about now. And I’ll put in a plug for fellow New Zealand author, Rosetta Allan, mentioned above. Along with <em>Crazy Love</em>, her two other novels, <em>Purgatory</em> and <em>The Unreliable People</em>, are both fabulous reads that deserve more air-time!!</span></p> <p><strong>O60: How do you deal with writer’s block?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I found the best solution was to chat more. By this I mean nutting out a problem with trusted friends or asking a question which then often provided a lead, or new tangent to explore. There was one dire moment of writer’s block when I was desperate to get my character, Gabrijela, out of the house. I asked Mum for ideas about social events in the 1950s and she told me how popular a day at the races was along with a personal story about backing an outside runner called Red Glare. Bingo! Guess where Gabrijela was now off to! Critique was also a valuable tool, especially during my Masters in Creative Writing year at Auckland University. It challenges you to think harder and strive to improve, to iron out the creases waiting to trip the reader out of their suspended disbelief.</span></p> <p><strong>O60: Which author, dead or alive, would you most like to have dinner with?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Has to be Janine Cummins, who wrote </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">American Dirt</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Supplied</span></em></p>

Books

‘An idealised Australian ethos’: why Bluey is an audience favourite, even for adults without kids

<p>Bluey, the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-01/bluey-abc-kids-show-wins-international-emmys-childrens-award/12111308">Emmy award-winning</a> animated series about a family of anthropomorphized cattle dogs, has become a <a href="https://www.kidspot.com.au/lifestyle/entertainment/the-most-downloaded-show-on-the-abc-is-not-what-youd-expect/news-story/6c1fdef918c5890b23695538c8c136b2">ratings phenomenon</a> since it was first broadcast on the ABC in 2018. Bluey follows the eponymous six-year-old Blue Heeler, her younger sister, Bingo, and their playful parents, Bandit and Chilli.</p> <p>As part of our new research project, <a href="https://www.actcresearch.com/">Australian Children’s Television Cultures</a>, we are <a href="https://swinuw.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2nLAOj9X5VUfPvw">surveying audiences</a> about how they interact with Australian children’s programming.</p> <p>From over 700 adult responses, Bluey was the TV program parents were most keen to watch with their children. Respondents celebrated its unambiguously Australian setting, irreverent humour, and family orientated themes at a time when other children’s content, such as the dead-eyed nursey rhymes of YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbCmjCuTUZos6Inko4u57UQ">Cocomelon</a>, seem to only offer generic, computer-generated distractions. Indeed, many adults without children said they watch Bluey.</p> <p>One respondent described Bluey, which is set in Brisbane, as “representative of an idealised Australian ethos — relaxed, curious, and hard-working”.</p> <p>Another, an early childhood educator, emphasised that “Australian children need Australian shows”. And as a parent explained,</p> <blockquote> <p>It’s nice for children to see familiar landmarks and have issues that are current to them, as opposed to Peppa Pig and needing to explain why we don’t have snow at Christmas".</p> </blockquote> <p>One aspect of Bluey audiences consider particularly relatable is the family dynamic, including the games Bluey and Bingo play with their resourceful parents. One locked-down Australian mother has even created “<a href="https://looseparts.com.au/bluey/">50 Days of Bluey</a>”, guidelines for home activities inspired by the show.</p> <p><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EuSpVc9z3Rk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>Bluey’s games include: “Daddy Robot” in which a “malfunctioning” Bandit teaches Bluey and Bingo the importance of tidying up; “Rug Island”, a kids-only oasis that the Heelers create in their backyard; and “Mount Mumandad”, in which Bluey and Bingo climb their exhausted parents after they have collapsed on the couch.</p> <p>Then there’s the humour: described by one respondent as full of Australian cultural nuances. As one parent noted,</p> <blockquote> <p>Bluey ‘gets’ parents perfectly … we enjoy watching it so we steer our kids towards it.</p> </blockquote> <h2>Read on many levels</h2> <p>The show can be read on multiple levels, which is why it can appeal to adults too. For instance, a recent Father’s Day episode saw Bluey’s dad, Bandit, discuss his conflicted feelings about getting a vasectomy with another dad.</p> <p>As Bandit explained, “I’m keen to get it done, but, Chilli, [his wife] she wants to keep her options open”. This adult moment in what is ostensibly a kids’ cartoon generated much discussion on social media. One fan tweeted</p> <blockquote> <p>I’m a grown man wondering if a cartoon dog family is going to have a baby. Weird life this is.</p> </blockquote> <p>From election day barbecues to Queenslander houses and backyards, early audience responses to our study agree Bluey offers a snapshot of Australia. However, many were quick to point out this snapshot doesn’t provide the full picture.</p> <p>Bluey has been <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/can-bluey-show-be-more-representative/100042084">gently criticised</a> for a perceived lack of diversity. The show centres on a hetero-normative nuclear family in a world largely populated by able-bodied characters, with Anglo-Australian names and accents. As one respondent noted</p> <blockquote> <p>We’re definitely getting better [at reflecting Australian culture] with shows like Bluey, but as a gay man I would love to see more LGBT representation in kids’ shows. It would be nice as a kid to know you’re valid.</p> </blockquote> <p>Nevertheless, many of this study’s early participants felt that on the whole, kids’ TV was becoming more reflective of wider Australia. Children’s content praised for providing greater diversity of representation included Indigenous Australian-led shows Little J & Big Cuz and Jarjums.</p> <p>National babysitter Play School was celebrated for its continued commitment to featuring hosts from a variety of backgrounds, and the greater diversity in The Wiggles’ new line-up was applauded.</p> <h2>Taking ‘bush wees’ global</h2> <p>One respondent wondered if the humour and references in Bluey were “lost on audiences outside of Australia”. However, since the Walt Disney Company acquired the show’s international broadcasting rights in 2019, Bluey has been reaching a wide <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jun/13/australias-bluey-goes-global-after-fetching-deal-with-disney">overseas audience</a>.</p> <p>While some small accommodations have been made for international viewers — “capsicums” became “peppers” in the UK and a gag with a pooping pony was cut for Disney Junior — the show has resisted being watered down. As such, it is taking bilbies and “bush wees” to global audiences.</p> <p>At a time when the commercial broadcaster quotas that previously protected local kids’ TV have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/cheese-n-crackers-concerns-deepen-for-the-future-of-australian-childrens-television-147183">scrapped</a> and international shows like Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig can be instantly summoned by tapping on a smart-phone, the local enthusiasm for Bluey is heartening.</p> <p>“I have friends in the US whose kids watch Bluey and they say their kids are talking in Aussie accents,” noted one respondent with pride.</p> <p>Said another: “Bluey will be forever iconic not just to kids but their parents, not just in Australia but all over the world”.</p> <p><em>Our research project, <a href="https://www.actcresearch.com/">Australian Children’s Television Cultures</a>, aims to better understand the role and responsibility of local Kids’ TV. You can participate in this research by clicking on the following <a href="https://swinuw.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2nLAOj9X5VUfPvw">link</a>. You can also follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/_ACTC_?s=20">Twitter</a>.</em><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168571/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/liam-burke-109751">Liam Burke</a>, Associate Professor and Cinema and Screen Studies Discipline Leader, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/djoymi-baker-1269345">Djoymi Baker</a>, Lecturer in Cinema Studies, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a></em>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-balanzategui-814024">Jessica Balanzategui</a>, Senior Lecturer in Cinema and Screen Studies, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a></em>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joanna-mcintyre-333903">Joanna McIntyre</a>, Lecturer in Media Studies, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-idealised-australian-ethos-why-bluey-is-an-audience-favourite-even-for-adults-without-kids-168571">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: ABC TV</em></p>

How art museums are helping to heal their audiences

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The COVID-19 pandemic saw a worldwide increase in depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a response to the global mental health problems, art galleries and museums are responding to the collective trauma with specialised art installations and programmes. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The last 18 months has seen a drastic increase of museum-based healing initiatives, that are available online and in person. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Queens Museum in New York has launched La Ventanita/The Little Window, an online art therapy program for recent immigrants and students at local elementary schools. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Florida, the Tampa Museum of Art is expanding both in-person and virtual offerings in connections, a community art engagement program geared toward people with depression, memory loss, and PTSD.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the country of Doha, a medical research centre has teamed up with the National Museum of Qatar to design an art therapy program to help alleviate depression and anxiety in children. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another New York museum has developed an online “care package” with an option to meditate amid chanting monks in a virtual version of its shrine room.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The programmes are not the first time art has been used to heal individuals of traumatic experiences. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some have previously been influenced by social change, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, to help those in mourning and those dealing with mental turmoil. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Art has long been used to help people heal from trauma, as a means to discuss the relationship between art and health. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2017, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts hired a full-time art therapist and permitted physicians to formally “prescribe” free access to their galleries, which drew in a lot of global attention. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Art therapy originally arose in the 1940s and ’50s, as specialised exhibitions helped researchers in the mental health field study the brain’s response to art. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Shutterstock</span></em></p>

Art

5 minutes with author Christine Sykes

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">5 minutes with author</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over60</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> asks book writers about their literary habits and preferences. Next in the series is Christine Sykes, a novelist and memoir writer based on Sydney’s south coast. After working as a Public Servant for 30 years and volunteering at Dress for Success Sydney for four, Sykes is now enjoying life’s simple pleasures and is regularly involved in tap dancing, acting, painting, and playing the flute. Her debut novel, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Changing Room</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> was inspired by the experiences of the women behind the charity Dress for Success. Her latest title, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gough and Me</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, is out now.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over60</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> talked with Sykes about writing routines, Jenny Hocking, and tough reads.</span></p> <p><strong>Over60:What book do you think more people should read?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aside from my two books! There are so many wonderful Australian writers to choose from.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The book I think people should read to get an understanding of the way history can be manipulated is </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Palace Letters</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by Jenny Hocking. It is a gripping account of the ground-breaking work undertaken to reveal the truth behind the sacking of the Whitlam government and the extraordinary steps to hide that truth.</span></p> <p><strong>How did you make the transition from the Public Service to writing?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While I was in the public service in Canberra, I undertook short creative writing courses at ANU. This resulted in me writing many short stories and rediscovering my love of children’s stories.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I retired, I decided to treat it as a writing sabbatical and try writing longer works. The Year of Novel Writing course at Writing NSW, gave me a structure to my time and a great foundation for writing my first published book, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Changing Room</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. I continued to explore writing through other courses and writing groups which led to the publication of my memoir, </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gough and Me</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><strong> What was the last book that made you laugh?</strong></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by Joanna Nell was hilarious, and a book I wish I’d written.</span> </p> <p><strong>What does your writing routine look like?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most of my writing is done in the morning, which is my most creative time. I usually begin writing in longhand in exercise books, and move to typing on the computer when the story has taken shape. The afternoons are good for walking and letting the story settle in the back of my brain where new connections are made. Some people call this composting and it’s an important part of my creative process.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When I edit, I tend to work into the afternoon and often find different places to read the manuscript, which gives me an alternative perspective.</span></p> <p><strong>What is your best writing tip?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Invest in your writing, through whatever means are available to you, such as doing a course, having a professional mentor or editor, being part of a writing group or having a writing friend. This really helped me when I didn’t feel like writing or was questioning my ability to write. I also give myself permission to write badly – it’s better to have something on the page which I can then edit and mould, than swirling thoughts in my head.</span> </p> <p><strong>Which author, deceased or living, would you most like to have dinner with?</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My first choice would be Anais Nin – a prolific writer of journals, novels and essays. I adored her descriptions of the soirees she held in Paris with interesting people from the arts, politics and life. I hope she’d bring some with her and would love for her to include Gough and Margaret Whitlam.</span></p> <p>What do you do when you can’t seem to finish reading a book?</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Usually I push through, hoping the author will grip me again, and sometimes I skip sections which are less interesting. There have only been a few books which I have abandoned.</span></p>

Books

Fan favourite takes out Dancing With The Stars again

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Luke Jacobz has claimed his second Dancing With The Stars mirror ball trophy after winning the show’s all-star celebrity season.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Going up against former soap star Bec Hewitt, Jacobz and professional dance partner Jorja Freeman won the grand final.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/COEW5cHhMaV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COEW5cHhMaV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Luke Jacobz (@lukejacobz)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Earlier in the episode Kyly Clarke, Lincoln Lewis, Ada Nicodemou, and Manu Feildel were kicked off.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“To win is honestly the greatest achievement of my life,” Jacobz told AAA.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I have never wanted something so much in my life.” </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The now 40-year-old dedicated his win and the $20,000 cash prize to the Charlie Teo Foundation, a charity that funds brain cancer research.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">He came... and he conquered the Ballroom once again! A big congratulations to Luke Jacobz and his incredible partner Jorja. 🙌✨ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DancingAU?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DancingAU</a> <a href="https://t.co/UYc0sK6qp3">pic.twitter.com/UYc0sK6qp3</a></p> — #DancingAU (@DancingAU) <a href="https://twitter.com/DancingAU/status/1386269226093084672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Home and Away actor, whose real name is Luke Jacob Ashwood, won his first trophy in 2008 with his partner Luda Kroiter.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This year’s season saw celebrity contestants return to the competition, including Tom Williams, Fifi Box, Jamie Durie, and wildcard contestants Schapelle Corby, Renee Bargh, Matty J, Jessicca Gomes, and Erin McNaught.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After the announcement of his win, Jacobz said, “Thank you for asking me to come back, when I did this show in 2008, I was always like if they do another one and ask people back, I want to have a go at it, because I really enjoyed it last time.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m so grateful to be partnered with Jorja, she works so incredibly hard, her passion and love for dancing is so inspiring.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN7ZiGGBCEU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN7ZiGGBCEU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Luke Jacobz (@lukejacobz)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With his win, Jacobz is hoping more opportunities will come up to follow his passion for performing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I really hope that winning can open doors for me to perform on a live stage,” he said. “To tour with other dancers or to be part of a production would be a dream come true. Next is unwritten … but I am hungry for more so, if the opportunity arises, I will be there to take it but I am a duo so Jorja is coming with me.”</span></p>

Music

Beloved 98-year-old grandma turned Facebook chef dies of coronavirus

<p>Lucy Pollock is not the only person who turned to cooking and baking during the coronavirus lockdown.</p> <p>However, she is one that stuck out after her videos, originally meant for friends and family, online began to gain traction and stick in the hearts of everyone watching her.</p> <p>Over time, the beloved 98-year-old’s cooking show<span> </span><em>Baking With Lucy</em><span> </span>amassed over 40,000 followers.</p> <p>Sadly though, the woman did not make it long enough to share any of her delicious Christmas recipes, passing away on Sunday after being diagnosed with coronavirus and suffering from a fatal lung infection.</p> <div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/inhercozykitchen/posts/232858605036662" data-show-text="true" data-width=""> <blockquote class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"> <p>As Lucy would say, " Happy Tuesday!!" Here is a beautiful photo of my mom and me at an art show Latrobe Art Center when...</p> Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/inhercozykitchen/">Baking With Lucy</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/inhercozykitchen/posts/232858605036662">Tuesday, November 24, 2020</a></blockquote> </div> <p>The Pennsylvania woman’s daughter Mary Ellen Raneri was the one who announced the sad news in a video shared to Pollock’s popular baking video page.</p> <p>"The beautiful, lovely Lucy, talented woman and amazing mother, passed away last night at 3 in the morning," she explains in the video.</p> <p>"It was very unexpected. It was due to a lung infection and also, she tested positive for COVID, so it's quite an eye-opener for us and for everybody.</p> <p>"It's kind of ironic that what she struggled so hard to help people with eventually ended up hurting her."</p> <p>Raneri was able to visit her mother prior to her death and sang<span> </span><em>You Are My Sunshine</em><span> </span>in their final moment together.</p> <p>She closed her eyes, she looked really happy, and she was at peace," she said in the video.</p> <p>Pollock brought joy to thousands in her humble kitchen, cooking up almost a century's worth of family recipes, baking dishes that had been passed down through generations, donated by friends, and taken from frayed, handwritten notes.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7838935/lucy-pollock.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/4ef471798165452e895bde030b4f8207" /></p> <p>In mid-March, Raneri shared a photo on Facebook of her mother making cinnamon scrolls.</p> <p>The pair were then encouraged to make "live videos" of themselves cooking up more dishes.</p> <p>Raneri would often stand nearby and read out recipes while her mother baked due to her poor eyesight.</p> <p>Pollock would bake while her husband Phil filmed her and the humble, family-friendly videos took off quickly – with Pollock earning worldwide recognition, an upcoming cookbook and a national television appearance on NBC's Today show,</p> <p>"I can't believe that I'm sitting here on a Sunday morning doing this," Raneri said in the sad video.</p> <p>"Because at this point we'd all be scurrying around, yelling at each other 'Who's going to get the flour?' and 'Where are we going to put it?' But life has twists and turns.</p> <p>"I feel like my heart is breaking right now. But I wanted to tell everybody that I think right now she's in a really good place, and I'm going to go with that."</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7838934/lucy-pollock-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/10634dde307746af8dd66b63045051a8" /></p> <p>Pollock's cookbook will go ahead as planned.</p> <p>"I don't think I knew how much I loved my mum until we started to do this project together," Raneri said of the cookbook.</p> <p>"I loved her, but I don't think I knew how much I admired her. She was an amazing person."</p> <p>Pollock will be buried in a private service on Friday.</p> <p>The service will be live streamed at 11 a.m. on the Baking with Lucy Facebook page.</p>

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