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Meg Ryan is back after a "giant break"

<p>Meg Ryan is back and she has spilled it all, ahead of her first rom-com release in nearly 15 years. </p> <p>In an interview with <em>People Magazine,</em> the <em>When Harry Met Sally </em>star revealed the reason why she took a step back from her career. </p> <p>"I took a giant break because I felt like there's just so many other parts of my experience as a human being I wanted to develop," she told the outlet. </p> <p>"It's nice to think of it as a job and not a lifestyle. And that is a great way of navigating it for me."</p> <p>The 61-year-old also shared the inspiration behind her first rom-com <em>What Happens Later, </em>which she directed, wrote and starred in. </p> <p>"It came to me during lockdown," she gushed. </p> <p>"The essence of it is these two people who are stuck together. I just love that idea that we're held in a space, even if it feels conflicted, maybe for reasons that heal them."</p> <p>This is the first rom-com that she has acted in for over a decade, with her last film in that genre being <em>Serious Moonlight</em> back in 2009.</p> <p>In another another conversation with <em>Interview</em> <em>magazine's</em> Carol Burnett, she opened up about the process of making her film. </p> <p>"Truly, the easiest part was acting in it," she told the publication. </p> <p>"I want to direct again just so I can sit in the chair, because I’m sure there’s a lot of things I missed."</p> <p>"I hadn’t done a role in a really long time, but it was fun with David," she added, referring to co-star David Duchovny, known for his role as Fox Mulder in <em>The X Files</em>.</p> <p>"A lot of it was done in two shots. I’m proud of that. I set up everything beforehand so that once we were there, it was just David and I trying to tell the truth."</p> <p>She revealed that the film was assembled together with a very "deliberate" process and a budget of only $3 million. </p> <p>"We had to do it really quickly. A lot of those extras weren’t even ours, they were real people," she said. </p> <p>"We went back in post and made everybody the same palette. There’s a lot of stuff you can do digitally now, thank god." </p> <p>The actress first shot to fame in 1980 for her girl-next-door image, after playing the love interest in iconic films like the original <em>Top Gun </em>and <em>When Harry Met Sally. </em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty Images/ Edward Berthelot/WireImage</em></p>

Movies

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Billy Crystal recreates iconic Harry look

<p>Get ready for a trip down memory lane as Billy Crystal has recreated his iconic sweater moment from <em>When Harry Met Sally</em> to celebrate his 75th birthday.</p> <p>Crystal shared a picture in the timeless knitted pullover on Twitter, sparking nostalgia and pure joy among his fans.</p> <p>In the tribute tweet, Crystal is crouching down in white sneakers, jeans and a preppy cream cable-knit pullover; although not exactly the same style seen in the iconic rom-com, it certainly got the nostalgia flowing.</p> <p>“Thank you all…,” he captioned the snaps, in tribute to his character from the 1989 film, Harry Burns.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thank you all.. <a href="https://t.co/EySEYTBJMc">pic.twitter.com/EySEYTBJMc</a></p> <p>— Billy Crystal (@BillyCrystal) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillyCrystal/status/1635673188519796737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>The post even caught the attention of the official Merriam-Webster Dictionary Twitter account, they tweeted, “Icon | noun | a person or thing widely admired especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sweater.”</p> <p>Actor Richard Lewis joined in, writing, “Finally, you’re my age. You’re a blessed artist. I’m proud to have started our comedic journey together.”</p> <p>Devoted fans shared their own takes on the sweater, with various people wearing cable knits and cosplaying as Harry Burns.</p> <p>The star shared some of his favourite recreations with his 738,000 followers on Twitter.</p> <p>Norah Ephron, the writer of the classic 80s film, has long inspired fashion in her films, with many people embracing “Nora Ephron fall” in 2022.</p> <p>Dressing as an Ephron-approved character calls for linen shirts, tweed blazers, sneakers, and of course, cosy knits.</p> <p>Three decades after the icon movie’s release, Crystal still has Ephron dressing down to a tee.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Twitter</em></p>

Relationships

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"So proud": Blue Wiggle's daughter joins the cast

<p>The daughter of Blue Wiggle Anthony Field has shared she has joined the children's entertainment group as a dancer. </p> <p>Lucia Field, 17, made the announcement on her TikTok account, as she shared a throwback picture of her and her famous dad with Dorothy the Dinosaur. </p> <p>She wrote, "I never would've believed you if 16 years ago you told me I'd be here."</p> <p>She then shared a photo of her in a blue skivvy dancing in front of the giant Wiggles logo. </p> <p>The video, which was posted on the offical Wiggles account, was flooded with comments of people cheering on the new dance member. </p> <div class="embed" style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; outline: none !important;"><iframe class="embedly-embed" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 610px; max-width: 100%; outline: none !important;" title="tiktok embed" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2Fembed%2Fv2%2F7132666717473344769&amp;display_name=tiktok&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tiktok.com%2F%40thewiggles%2Fvideo%2F7132666717473344769%3Fis_copy_url%3D1%26is_from_webapp%3Dv1%26lang%3Den&amp;key=59e3ae3acaa649a5a98672932445e203&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=tiktok" width="340" height="700" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> <p>Anthony also commented, saying he was "so proud" of his daughter.</p> <p>Lucia graduated from high school in December last year, with her excited father sharing a photo to Instagram of them together at her formal.</p> <p>In addition to Lucia, Anthony is father to daughter Marie, 16, and son Antonio, 14, whom he shares with his wife of 18 years, Michaela Patisteas.</p> <p>Anthony joined The Wiggles in 1979 alongside retired members Murray Cook, Greg Page and Jeff Fatt.</p> <p>The trio were replaced by 'Yellow Wiggle' Emma Watkins, who left the group in October last year, 'Purple Wiggle' Lachlan Gillespie and 'Red Wiggle' Simon Pryce.</p> <p><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

Family & Pets

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5 minutes with author Sally Piper

<p dir="ltr">In the Over60 “5 Minutes With” series, we ask book writers about their literary habits and preferences. Next up is Sally Piper who is debuting her third book, <em>Bone Memories</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Piper worked as a nurse and nurse educator, specialising in neurosurgical critical care and decided to use her experience in people’s vulnerabilities to write her books.</p> <p dir="ltr">With <em>Bone Memories</em>, Piper explores grief, family, murder and media representation of female victims of crime. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Bone Memories</em> is out now and can be purchased <a href="https://www.uqp.com.au/books/bone-memories" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> and enjoy the <a href="https://d3f44jafdqsrtg.cloudfront.net/book-clubs/BookClubNotes_Bone-Memories.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">book club notes</a> with your friends.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What inspired you to write Bone Memories?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">The story grew first from questions I had about how victims and survivors of a crime might memorialise the site where their trauma had occurred. I wondered whether being close to this ground brought people comfort or if proximity to it harmed them further. I wondered what it made their grief look and feel like when they moved across that ground and how that relationship might affect them or change over time.</p> <p dir="ltr">Through the story, I hoped to explore how trauma lives in the body and for some people how it also lives in the land where that trauma occurred; how history and geography for some are inextricably linked. And I wanted to explore how people reconcile this link or what happens if they are unable to.</p> <p dir="ltr">Equally, I often think about the effect that witnessing violence has on children, even if they have little or no memory or understanding of the event. Would they have some innate sense that they had witnessed something terrible? If so, how might this play out as they matured?</p> <p dir="ltr">In writing Bone Memories, I hoped to answer these questions. But as is often the case with any writing project, once you get into it, doors open to other thinking as well. With this story I was once again drawn into what forces impact upon women's safe and free movement through the world (something I explored in my previous novel,<a href="https://www.uqp.com.au/books/the-geography-of-friendship" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> The Geography of Friendship</a>), but this time I looked at it in the way that the media represents female victims of crime; how some crimes against women are reported with a sympathetic narrative, one that elicits intense social empathy, and at other times women are essentially blamed for their own deaths.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong> Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I read widely and often around obscure topics, which inevitably takes me down rabbit holes of thinking, so ideas I hadn’t previously considered important suddenly become so. This is the best kind of information gathering, because it is unexpected. It is also one of the reasons I never plan my stories, allowing them to evolve organically. And neither do I allow myself to know the ending of a novel. Because if I get surprises along the way, then it is my hope that readers will too.   </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>How do you deal with writer’s block?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Writer’s block is a phrase I won’t use in relation to my writing practise. It sounds too much like a disease that I’m at risk of ‘catching’. When I’m struggling to start or progress a work it is usually because I haven’t thought enough about what it is I want to say. Or as Jonathan Franzen puts it: ‘the blank page in the mind has to be filled before you have the courage to face the actual blank page.’ Which is to say, think first, write later. If I get stuck, I go back to the original questions I began the story with: What do I want this story to say? What are the themes and issues I want it to address? Who are the stakeholders? Not being able to find the words is often because I have lost sight of the answers, or I need to ask myself new or better questions.</p> <p dir="ltr">There is also something else that can stop a work in its tracks, which masquerades as writer’s block: procrastination. But procrastination is a defence mechanism, another word for fear or a lack of self-belief. It protects us from criticism. It keeps us safe from failure. It saves us digging deeply into the personal stuff of what we’re writing about, which is often the place where the gold is found. The solution then is to find courage, trust yourself and persevere.  </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>What is your work schedule like when you're writing?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">When working on a new project, I write most days, mainly in the morning. The afternoon is usually spent editing that morning’s work, often after a bushwalk, an activity I call writing away from the desk. Once away from the work, I see it through a different lens: an editorial one. I find the rhythm of walking allows for clearer thinking, helped in no small part by fresh air and the calming beauty of the bush. With this clarity I can usually work out what isn’t working in the story, and often why as well, so that I come back with a solution. Sometimes I cut the walk short because I’m excited to get back and make the changes.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Do you expect Bone Memories to become a TV series?</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">I think every writer has a secret dream that their story will be reimagined for the screen, and there certainly is more scope for these opportunities now with the rise of streaming services such as Netflix and Stan. When this dream came true for my second novel, The Geography of Friendship, which is to be made into a 6-part TV series by Aquarius Films and Rose Byrne’s Dollhouse Pictures, I was absolutely thrilled to think that the characters in that story would be reimagined in this way. So, it is hard not to hope for the same thing for my third novel, Bone Memories. It is a deeply human, family-centric story with strongly realised characters and a sharp eye for the Australian landscape, so I think it would make an excellent adaptation. But of course, I’m not at all biased!</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Fiona Muirhead/Supplied</em></p>

Books

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Rebel Wilson teases "playing the field" amid relationship rumours

<p>Rebel Wilson has shared a cheeky post with her Instagram followers amid new romance rumours between the actress and tennis star Matt Reid. </p><p>The 41-year-old shared a series of snaps from the Los Angeles Rams NFL game in California on Tuesday, and she captioned the pics, "I don't normally 'play the field' buuuut yesterday was different."</p><p>"The biggest congratulations to [Rams] for making it to the Super Bowl! I'm such a proud ambassador!"</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF;border: 0;border-radius: 3px;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/CZZzqyDJIXb/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"><div style="padding: 16px"><div style="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="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="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="flex-direction: row;margin-bottom: 14px;align-items: center"><div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px"> </div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4;height: 12.5px;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"> </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"> </div></div><div style="margin-left: auto"><div style="width: 0px;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right: 8px solid transparent"> </div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4;flex-grow: 0;height: 12px;width: 16px"> </div><div style="width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left: 8px solid transparent"> </div></div></div><div style="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"><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/CZZzqyDJIXb/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Rebel Wilson (@rebelwilson)</a></p></div></blockquote><p>Rebel has been rumoured to be dating the 31-year-old Australian tennis star after the pair were seen enjoying a romantic lunch in Sydney on Christmas Eve last year. </p><p>Rebel and Matt also attended the AACTA Awards together in December 2021, where Rebel was presenting an award. </p><p>In January 2022, Rebel was spotted with her friend and tennis WAG Brittany Hockley, as the two women watched Matt Reid's tennis game in Sydney.</p><p>While the actress has yet to confirm the romance, Rebel did hint at having a crush over the Christmas period, writing on social media, "I wish you were wrapped up under my Christmas bush right now."</p><p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Relationships

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Designer home comes with its OWN footy field

<p dir="ltr">A designer homestead in the middle of the Western Australian bush has been<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-lifestyle-wa-muckenburra-700170614?cid=content-article:buyers:featured-property" target="_blank">listed</a><span> </span>for sale, and its expansive 100-acre surroundings comes with its own private football oval.</p> <p dir="ltr">The home, with its “contemporary industrial meets country resort” aesthetic, took its creator five years to construct.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The purpose-built property is a model of the perfect country retreat dreamed up by its owner, who is an architect and university lecturer,” Nick French, of Dethridge Groves Real Estate,<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/designer-bush-homestead-on-100-acres-just-outside-perth-comes-with-own-afl-oval/" target="_blank">said</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s seamless and all the spaces are huge, which gives a very relaxed flow, and it all sits within a pristine bush setting with no other houses in view.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Along with its three bedrooms and bathrooms, the home boasts oversized entertaining spaces, a library and study, and a courtyard garden and plunge pool belonging to the master suite.</p> <p dir="ltr">The property also comes with a two-storey bunkhouse with two full-sized bedrooms of its own.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite being only an hour from the city, the property has an isolated feel.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The 100 acres of ever-changing natural bush land has many, many species of flowering natives - including some rare orchids,” Mr French said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though the natural beauty surrounding the home is a huge bonus, the highlight of the outdoor spaces has to be the quarter-sized AFL oval, along with its own seating for spectators “to take in all the fun”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There’s also a huge rear entertaining patio with built-in barbeque area and woodfired pizza oven,” Mr French said.</p> <p dir="ltr">With a solar energy system and water tanks capable of storing 90,000 litres, he added that the home also has a 10-star energy rating.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The owners have moved to new employment positions in Victoria and had to sell up both their main home and this holiday home,” Mr French said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It might not be the place you immediately think of when buying a holiday home or a weekender, but it’s only an hour drive from Perth but is completely secluded on its own huge land holding of diverse, native bushland.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The local town is utterly delightful with a number of historic buildings.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The home is open for inspections by appointment, and Mr French said he is welcoming offers starting at $1.7 million.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Realestate.com.au</em></p>

Real Estate

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Blue Wiggle's stunning gesture for late veteran's family

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Blue Wiggle Anthony Field has donated all his latest album's royalties to the family of a war veteran who passed away from cancer at age 30.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Afghanistan veteran Brendan Nikolajew </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/tragic-update-from-wife-of-terminally-ill-veteran" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">died</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on July 29 this year after fighting testicular cancer on-and-off for the past three years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A few weeks prior, the Blue Wiggle </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/veteran-with-terminal-cancer-speechless-after-blue-wiggle-s-kind-act" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">promised</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to donate the royalties from the group’s latest album, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lullabies With Love</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and has lived up to his word. After giving Mr Nikolajew all of his songwriting credits, the royalties will now go to his wife Leah, and their two young children.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I took my name off all the songwriting and put Brendan’s name instead, and gave him all the royalties and credits,” the musician </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-16/blue-wiggle-donates-aria-nominated-album-to-veterans-family/100620444" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He said Mr Nikolajew found the situation to be quite amusing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We had a good laugh about this, because it’s nominated for an ARIA award, so if we win the ARIA that ARIA is going straight to Leah and the family, and we’ll get Brendan’s name engraved on it,” Field explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It would be fantastic — I mean, he’s got so many medals from his service and now he might end up with an ARIA too.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He was hoping to still be around for the ARIAs. He was going to take his daughter and son.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Field, a fellow Army veteran, became acquainted with Mr Nikolajew two and half years ago, and described him as “one in a million”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He’s one of those people you are very lucky to meet in your life,” the 58-year-old said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I learnt so much from that young man. He taught me how to live and boy, did he teach me how to die.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just before Mr Nikolajew passed away, Field said the pair spoke about the loss of his niece.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Brendan lost his niece in the lead-up to his death and we had a good talk about it,” Field recalled.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I said to Brendan, ‘What’s going to happen when you pass over?’</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He said, ‘I’m going straight to my little niece’ — that’s the sort of man he was and I know he would be there now, looking after her.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mr Nikolajew’s status as an ARIA award winner is yet to be determined, with the winners to be announced on November 24.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: @anthony_wiggle / @brendans.cancer.fight (Instagram)</span></em></p>

Music

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The Wiggles’ Anthony Fields drops bombshell revelation

<p><span>Anthony Field has been the Blue <em>Wiggle</em> for over 30 years, but a bombshell revelation may have us all watching his performances with a closer eye.</span><br /><br /><span>The star children’s performer admitted he has been miming the whole time.</span><br /><br /><span><em>The Wiggles</em> was co-founded in 1991, and Field remains the lost standing member of the original group.</span><br /><br /><span>However, despite his decades of experience, the star revealed he doesn’t sing like his co-stars Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce and Emma Watkins.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843503/wiggle-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/8bccf6ef391a4b529f117ff5c3105f81" /><br /><span>“I never sing. For years, I’ve mimed,” he told Nova’s <em>Fitzy &amp; Wippa.</em></span><br /><br /><span>“Believe it or not, I mimed Simon’s (baritone-style) voice for years.</span><br /><br /><span>“I have this low voice and people would ask me to sing in public and they’d be very disappointed.”</span><br /><br /><span>Field, who is also known for his guitar skills, joked his admission was like the <em>Milli Vanilli</em> 1989 scandal when the RnB duo was caught lip-syncing after a technical glitch during a live show.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843504/wiggle-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f01272e7122c49fba28df5b3475f6ac6" /><br /><br /><span>Field came on the show after the announcement that four new members - Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce, and Kelly Hamilton - would be joining the group.</span><br /><br /><span>The expanded line-up was announced on Sunday for a new YouTube exclusive - <em>Fruit Salad TV.</em></span><br /><br /><span>“<em>Fruit Salad TV</em> seeks to inspire a diverse audience with its gender balanced and diverse cast,” the group said.</span><br /><br /><span><em>“The Wiggles</em> aim to motivate the child viewer to sing, dance and be active participants in the story of the day.”</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/CS2qb0INHez/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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/CS2qb0INHez/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by The Wiggles (@thewiggles)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /><span>The new members will don the same coloured skivvies as the other members of the band.</span><br /><br /><span>Kelly will wear yellow, John is in purple, Tsehay dresses in red and Evie is in blue.</span></p>

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Tragic update from wife of terminally ill veteran

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Queensland man whose battle with terminal cancer saw Wiggles star Anthony Field commit </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://oversixty.co.nz/health/caring/veteran-with-terminal-cancer-speechless-after-blue-wiggle-s-kind-act" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">an act of kindness</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has died at the age of 30.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brendan Nikolajew, an army veteran who served in Afghanistan, had been fighting cancer on-and-off for more than three years after a small lump was discovered on one of his testicles.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He was recently given the devastating news that he had weeks to live and on Tuesday, his wife Leah shared a tragic update.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“To all our beautiful friends and family, it breaks my heart to let you all know that my beautiful husband passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon,” she wrote on Instagram.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I held him close and lay next to him until his last breath. I made sure he knew how loved he was by everyone who knew him.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The last few days of his life were extremely hard for him as he struggled to breathe and was quite confused, he fought right to the end and did not want to leave but eventually made the decision to finally be at peace and watch us from the stars.”</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-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRzjAkAhR1v/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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/CRzjAkAhR1v/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Brendan Nikolajew (@brendans.cancer.fight)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leah said her “little family” were “absolutely broken” after his passing and “still can’t imagine how we are going to continue on in this life without our sun and moon and our rock”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He lived life to the fullest and loved the people around so bloody hard and I am proud to be his wife,” Leah continued.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I hope we can all keep his memory alive by never giving up and living our life with Brendan’s ferocity and passion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Thank you all for the beautiful kind messages of love.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Blue Wiggle Anthony Field, who previously pledged to donate the royalties from the group’s new album to Brendan’s wife and children, shared his own tribute to Brendan.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Rest In Peace Brendan. <a href="https://t.co/pak9Uf79dH">pic.twitter.com/pak9Uf79dH</a></p> — Anthony Field (@Anthony_Wiggle) <a href="https://twitter.com/Anthony_Wiggle/status/1419777483537215490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Rest in Peace Brendan,” he wrote on Twitter, sharing a photo of the veteran with his family.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: brendans.cancer.fight / Instagram</span></em></p>

Caring

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Veteran with terminal cancer speechless after Blue Wiggle’s kind act

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Queensland army veteran has been left lost for words after finding out about how one of Australia’s biggest music stars plans to set his young family up for life.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wiggles member Anthony Field has pledged to donate the royalties from the group’s new album, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lullabies With Love</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, to Brendan Nikolajew’s wife and children.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nikolajew is in palliative care as he combats late-stage terminal cancer at home in Moreton Bay.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I never thought that I’d be receiving support and admiration from such a legend,” Nikolajew said of Field’s kind act on Instagram on Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Anthony has given so much and it’s too humbling.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“For this to be put into words is the hardest part … Just a massive thanks to everyone involved!”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 30-year-old war veteran, who served in Afghanistan, has been battling cancer for more than three years after a small lump was found on one of his testicles.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After treatment of the lump, his cancer returned in November last year and was found in other areas of his body.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite undergoing immediate chemotherapy treatment, he was recently given the terminal diagnosis and is making himself as comfortable as possible at home.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His friend, Matthew James, spoke to 7NEWS in July, describing Nikolajew as “a positive guy”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He’s the guy in the group who would try to pick you up if you were feeling down,” James said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He’s definitely the most genuine bloke you could meet.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“For the past three or so years he’s been really going through it, it’s never really sunk in.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“He’s always been a positive guy. It’s kind of really starting to hit home. It’s a really rough time.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Field, the blue Wiggle who started the beloved children’s group in the 1990s, also served in the military.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">His gesture will be set to benefit Nikolajew’s wife Leah, their four-year-old daughter Georgie, and their two-year-old son Roman.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">More than $12000 has also been raised through a GoFundMe for the family.</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-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ9SMwzhuxc/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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/CQ9SMwzhuxc/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Brendan Nikolajew (@brendans.cancer.fight)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“These two and my wife, are the reasons I fight/fought so hard, so long and gave whatever it took,” Nikolajew said on Instagram recently.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I also lived my bloody life, which I’m proud of.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Brendan Nikolajew / Instagram</span></em></p>

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Facebook is tilting the political playing field more than ever and it’s no accident

<p>As the US presidential election polling day draws close, it’s worth recapping what we know about how Facebook has been used to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3834737/">influence election results</a>.</p> <p>The platform is optimised for boosting politically conservative voices calling for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/26/facebook-algorithm-conservative-liberal-extremes/">fascism, separatism and xenophobia</a>. It’s also these voices that tend to generate <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/radical-ideas-social-media-algorithms/">the most clicks</a>.</p> <p>In recent years, Facebook has on several occasions been made to choose between keeping to its <a href="https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards/introduction">community standards</a> or taking a path that avoids the ire of conservatives. Too many times, it has chosen the latter.</p> <p>The result has been an onslaught of divisive rhetoric that continues to flood the platform and drive political polarisation in society.</p> <p><strong>How democracy can be subverted online</strong></p> <p>According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/us/politics/russian-interference-trump-democrats.html">The New York Times</a>, earlier this year US intelligence officials warned Russia was interfering in the 2020 presidential campaign, with the goal of seeing President Donald Trump re-elected.</p> <p>This was corroborated by <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/new-evidence-shows-how-russias-election-interference-has-gotten-more">findings</a> from the US Brennan Centre for Justice. A research team led by journalism and communications professor Young Mie Kim identified a range of Facebook troll accounts deliberately sowing division “by targeting both the left and right, with posts to foment outrage, fear and hostility”.</p> <p>Most were linked to Russia’s Internet Research Agency (IRA), <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-sanctions/u-s-blacklists-individuals-entities-linked-to-leader-of-russias-ira-idUSKCN26E2HO">the company</a> also behind a 2016 US election influence campaign. Kim <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/new-evidence-shows-how-russias-election-interference-has-gotten-more">wrote</a> the troll accounts seemed to discourage certain people from voting, with a focus on swing states.</p> <p>This month, Facebook <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/technology/facebook-qanon-crackdown.html">announced</a> a ban (across both Facebook and Instagram, which Facebook owns) on groups and pages devoted to the far-right conspiracy group QAnon. It also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-takes-down-network-tied-to-conservative-group-citing-fake-accounts-11602174088">removed</a> a network of fake accounts linked to a conservative US political youth group, for violating rules against “coordinated inauthentic behavior”.</p> <p>However, despite Facebook’s <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/facebooks-latest-fix-for-fake-news-ask-users-what-they-trust/">repeated promises</a> to clamp down harder on such behaviour — and <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-is-removing-qanon-pages-and-groups-from-its-sites-but-critical-thinking-is-still-the-best-way-to-fight-conspiracy-theories-147668">occasional</a> efforts to actually do so — the company has been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/samantha-power-facebook-reduce-spread-misinformation/2020/10/23/d54c1bda-1496-11eb-bc10-40b25382f1be_story.html">widely</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/14/facebook-greatest-source-of-covid-19-disinformation-journalists-say">criticised</a> for doing far too little to curb the spread of disinformation, misinformation and election meddling.</p> <p>According to a <a href="https://comprop.oii.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/93/2019/09/CyberTroop-Report19.pdf">University of Oxford study</a>, 70 countries (including Australia) practised either foreign or domestic election meddling in 2019. This was up from 48 in 2018 and 28 in 2017. The study said Facebook was “the platform of choice” for this.</p> <p>The Conversation approached Facebook for comment regarding the platform’s use by political actors to influence elections, including past US elections. A Facebook spokesperson said:</p> <p><em>We’ve hired experts, built teams with experience across different areas, and created new products, policies and partnerships to ensure we’re ready for the unique challenges of the US election.</em></p> <p><strong>When Facebook favoured one side</strong></p> <p>Facebook has drawn widespread criticism for its failure to remove posts that clearly violate its policies on hate speech, including <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/06/28/facebook-zuckerberg-trump-hate/">posts</a> by Trump himself.</p> <p>The company openly <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2019/09/elections-and-political-speech/">exempts</a> politicians from its fact-checking program and knowingly hosts misleading content from politicians, under its “newsworthiness exception”.</p> <p>When Facebook tried to clamp down on misinformation in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential elections, <a href="https://www.bushcenter.org/people/joel-kaplan.html">ex-Republican staffer</a> turned Facebook executive Joel Kaplan argued doing so would disproportionately target conservatives, the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/02/20/facebook-republican-shift/">reported</a>.</p> <p>The Conversation asked Facebook whether Kaplan’s past political affiliations indicated a potential for conservative bias in his current role. The question wasn’t answered.</p> <p>Facebook’s board also now features a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/technology/peter-thiel-donald-j-trump.html">major Trump donor</a> and vocal supporter, Peter Thiel. Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has himself been accused of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/business/media/facebook-donald-trump-mark-zuckerberg.html">getting “too close”</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/22/surprised-about-mark-zuckerbergs-secret-meeting-with-trump-dont-be">Trump</a>.</p> <p>Moreover, when the US Federal Trade Commission investigated Facebook’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/12/facebook-fine-ftc-privacy-violations">Republican votes</a> that saved the company from facing antitrust litigation.</p> <p>Overall, Facebook’s model has shifted <a href="https://www.theverge.com/interface/2019/4/11/18305407/social-network-conservative-bias-twitter-facebook-ted-cruz">towards increasing polarisation</a>. Incendiary and misinformation-laden posts tend to generate clicks.</p> <p>As Zuckerberg himself <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/mark-zuckerberg/a-blueprint-for-content-governance-and-enforcement/10156443129621634/">notes</a>, “when left unchecked, people on the platform engage disproportionately” with such content.</p> <p>Over the years, conservatives have accused Facebook of <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/04/10/ted-cruz-threatens-regulate-facebook-twitter-over-alleged-bias/3423095002/">anti-conservative bias</a>, for which the company faced <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/trump-campaign-halts-twitter-spending-over-disgusting-bias-against-mitch-mcconnell/">financial penalties by the Republican Party</a>. This is despite research indicating <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/study-analysis-top-facebook-pages-covering-american-political-news">no such bias exists</a> on the platform.</p> <p><strong>Fanning the flames</strong></p> <p>Facebook’s <a href="https://www.livescience.com/49585-facebook-addiction-viewed-brain.html">addictive</a> news feed rewards us for simply skimming headlines, conditioning us to react viscerally.</p> <p>Its sharing features have been found to <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6380/1146">promote falsehoods</a>. They can <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/can-voting-facebook-button-improve-voter-turnout/">trick users</a> into attributing news to their friends, causing them to assign trust to unreliable news sources. This provides a breeding ground for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-10-05/conspiracy-theories-coronavirus-5g-conspiratorial-psychology/12722320">conspiracies</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0207383">Studies</a> have also shown social media to be an ideal environment for campaigns aimed at creating mistrust, which explains the increasing <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/516412-polls-show-trust-in-scientific-political-institutions-eroding">erosion of trust in science and expertise</a>.</p> <p>Worst of all are Facebook’s “echo chambers”, which convince people that only their own opinions are mainstream. This encourages hostile “us versus them” dialogue, which leads to polarisation. This pattern <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/02/21/concerns-about-democracy-in-the-digital-age/">suppresses valuable democratic debate</a> and has been described as an <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Age-Surveillance-Capitalism-Future-Frontier/dp/1610395697">existential threat to democracy itself</a>.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Facebook’s staff hasn’t been shy about skewing liberal, even suggesting in 2016 that Facebook work to <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/04/facebook-employees-asked-mark-zuckerberg-if-they-should-try-to-stop-a-donald-trump-presidency/">prevent Trump’s election</a>. Around 2017, they proposed a feature called “<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/23/18154111/facebook-common-grounds-feature-conservative-bias-concerns-shelved-joel-kaplan">Common Ground</a>”, which would have encouraged users with different political beliefs to interact in less hostile ways.</p> <p>Kaplan opposed the proposition, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebooks-lonely-conservative-takes-on-a-power-position-11545570000">The Wall Street Journal</a>, due to fears it could trigger claims of bias against conservatives. The project was eventually shelved in 2018.</p> <p>Facebook’s track record isn’t good news for those who want to live in a healthy democratic state. Polarisation certainly doesn’t lead to effective political discourse.</p> <p>While several <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/10/preparing-for-election-day/">blog</a> <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/08/preparing-for-myanmars-2020-election/">posts</a> from the company outline measures being taken to supposedly protect the integrity of the 2020 US presidential elections, it remains to be seen what this means in reality.</p> <p><em>Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-brand-290376">Michael Brand</a>, Monash University. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-is-tilting-the-political-playing-field-more-than-ever-and-its-no-accident-148314">The Conversation.</a></em></p>

Art

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Miss England swaps beauty crown for hospital gown amid pandemic

<p>Miss England 2019, Bhasha Mukherjee, has returned to her lucrative medical career in trade for her crown in order to help those impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.</p> <p>The 24-year-old winner told<span> </span>CNN<span> </span>she was returning to her career in the UK after coming back from doing humanitarian work as Miss England abroad. She is returning to her job as a junior doctor at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Eastern England – which she held before she won the crown.</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/B-uoPX0gOgj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <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/B-uoPX0gOgj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Dr Bhasha Mukherjee (@bhasha05)</a> on Apr 8, 2020 at 10:39am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p> “I felt a sense of this is what I’d got this degree for and what better time to be part of this particular sector than now,” she explained on Monday.</p> <p>According to John Hopkins University data, the United Kingdom currently has 56,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19, as of Tuesday morning.</p> <p>Mukherjee says her initial plans to act as an ambassador for a number of charities throughout countries including Turkey, India and Pakistan quickly had to quickly be given up after receiving messages from her former colleagues about the dire situation currently taking place in England.</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/B9gsfeyHxP5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <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/B9gsfeyHxP5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Dr Bhasha Mukherjee (@bhasha05)</a> on Mar 9, 2020 at 4:15am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p> “When you are doing all this humanitarian work abroad, you’re still expected to put the crown on, get ready ... look pretty,” she said.</p> <p>For her, there is no better time to step back from her crown and help the country in its time of need.</p> <p>“Health care staff are risking their lives for us, so let’s risk our mere leisure for a little while to say thank you to them,” Mukherjee wrote in support of the U.K’s National Health Service.</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/B8OamTtnfvN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <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/B8OamTtnfvN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Dr Bhasha Mukherjee (@bhasha05)</a> on Feb 6, 2020 at 4:21am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Mukherjee says being a doctor requires her to be as creative as possible in relation to speaking to patients and “trying to convince them of taking their medication or doing a certain treatment.”</p> <p>“That’s where the art comes in, you see,” she explained.</p> <p>“That’s where the humanities and all the communication skills come in. And that was very exciting for me.”</p> <p>Mukherjee told<span> </span>CNN<span> </span>she is placing herself under quarantine for two weeks before she returns to her medical profession, but stated she is prepared and readily awaiting the new challenge that she is soon to face.</p>

Caring

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Creator of Uluru’s Field of Light launches new exhibition in Darwin

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prolific light artist Bruce Munro is back again to dazzle tourists and locals alike in Darwin with his latest light-driven installation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The latest exhibit stretches across 2.5kms around Darwin’s city centre and features eight illuminated sculptures by Munro, whose a world renowned artist.</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-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3w58f5lhfl/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <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="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3w58f5lhfl/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Bruce Munro: Tropical Light opens November 1st Darwin, Australia.Fireflies, copyright © 2019 Bruce Munro. All rights reserved. Photography by Mark Pickthall.</a></p> <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 post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/brucemunrostudio/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Bruce Munro</a> (@brucemunrostudio) on Oct 18, 2019 at 8:12am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Munro was inspired by the Northern Territory’s capital city and is the first citywide exhibition in the world.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The collection reflects Munro’s personal history of visiting Australia as well as the Northern Territory.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This is a collection of smaller installations and a very different experience to Field of Lights,” Mr Munro told </span><a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/northern-territory/creator-of-ulurus-field-of-light-launches-new-exhibition-in-darwin/news-story/003b3522311a1e3d4d96b451c20ed9d0"><span style="font-weight: 400;">news.com.au</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</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-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnmRCh7BFaQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <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="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnmRCh7BFaQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">One of my favourite Fields of Light, Uluru, Australia - Jane OConnor, Bruce Munro Studio. Photographs by Mark Pickthall and Serena Munro</a></p> <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 post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/brucemunrostudio/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Bruce Munro</a> (@brucemunrostudio) on Sep 11, 2018 at 12:40pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Those coming to Darwin for Tropical Lights will experience the beautiful city … which has everything a big city has but slightly more condensed. This exhibition is not about me plonking sculptures from (the) other side of the world and putting them in Darwin, the sculptures are inspired by Darwin.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“So I am interested to see if people enjoy it and feel and think the same as I did when I first came here.”</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-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4VKb-HlSw6/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <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="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4VKb-HlSw6/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Bruce Munro: Tropical Light, Darwin Australia. November 1st 2019 - April 30th 2020. Photography by Serena Munro, copyright © 2019 Bruce Munro. All rights reserved. A huge thank you to @fusionexhibitionandhire &amp; @NTmajorevents an install we will never forget ❤️@tropicallights.darwin</a></p> <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 post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/brucemunrostudio/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Bruce Munro</a> (@brucemunrostudio) on Nov 1, 2019 at 10:09am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The Tropical Light exhibit in Darwin is open until the 30th of April 2020. </p>

Domestic Travel

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Google Maps fail leads nearly 100 drivers to an empty field

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nearly 100 Colorado drivers were misled by Google Maps last week as a car crash on the road leading to Denver International Airport caused the app to provide people with a detour.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a rush to get to the airport on time for their flights, many went via a narrow dirt road suggested by the app.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to </span><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/26/us/google-maps-detour-colorado-trnd/index.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CNN</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, cars began sliding down the dirt road, which turned into a muddy mess.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some cars got stuck, which caused a traffic jam.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There were a bunch of other cars going down (the dirt road) too, so I said, ‘I guess it’s OK.’ It was not OK,” one driver, Connie Monsees, told </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">CNN</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Once you were on the dirt road, there was nowhere to make a U-turn.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The question is, why did Google send us out there to begin with? There was no turning back once you were out there,” Connie said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She ended up with a semi-damaged vehicle and two extra passengers, as she kindly offered two others a lift to the airport.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Google Maps addressed the situation in a statement to </span><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/google-maps-shortcut-colorado-turns-muddy-mess-hundred/story?id=63946068"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ABC News</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">:</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We take many factors into account when determining driving routes, including the size of the road and the directness of the route.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“While we always work to provide the best directions, issues can arise due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather. We encourage all drivers to follow local laws, stay attentive, and use their best judgment while driving.” </span></p>

Travel Trouble

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Experience the magic: Uluru transformed by Field of Light installation

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Understandably, when people think of an artistic light show within Australia, they think of Vivid, which uses Sydney Harbour as its canvas and lights up the city for a short period of time in winter.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, there’s a new light installation that’s turning heads with an iconic Australian landmark as its background.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Field of Light</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by artist Bruce Munro is spread out at the base of Uluru. The amazing light installation is made up of more than 50,000 glass orbs that are elevated on handcrafted stems. The installation is spread over an area the size of nine football fields and must be seen to be believed.</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-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw_SCRjF4dZ/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <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="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw_SCRjF4dZ/" target="_blank">The immersive art installation #fieldoflights under the Milky way in the middle of the desert.. What a wonderful experience! 😍 . . . . . . . #brunomunro #fieldoflightuluru #ulururock #ulurukatatjuta #visituluru #ulurunationalpark #seeuluru #ulurutrip #exploreuluru #ulurukatatjukanationalpark #ulurustatement #outbackaustralia #northernterritory #seeaustralia #redcentre #ig_australia #ayersrock #ig_discover_australia #lifeofaustralia #australiashots #australiagram #centralaustralia #sacredheart #wow_australia2019 #artinstallation #light</a></p> <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 post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/mari_woo_/" target="_blank"> Mari Woo</a> (@mari_woo_) on May 2, 2019 at 10:32pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The installation travelled a fair way to get to Uluru. The whole installation weighs 15 tonnes and was transported more than 19,000 kilometres across 32 domestic and international flights to make its way to the middle of Australia.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the artist lives in the UK, getting it here was no easy task.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another cool part about the installation is that it’s powered by solar. The spheres are connected by glowing optical fibre and begin to light up as the night falls and the stars begin to come out over Uluru.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The bulbs slowly begin to change colours, which then creates a field of light.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead of being amongst the crowds like you would at Vivid, you’ll mostly find yourself alone as you explore this massive art installation in the middle of Australia. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Field of Light</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> installation has been extended until the end of 2020, much to the delight of the artist. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I am greatly moved and humbled by the enormous response to the artwork,” Munro explained in a </span><a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/northern-territory/aussie-travel-experience-that-should-be-on-your-bucket-list/news-story/5114d747fd23b6ca48deab9561ffe79d"><span style="font-weight: 400;">statement</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s obvious the combination of the exhibition and a canvas as visceral as this — flourishing from red dirt and tufts of spinifex, in the shadows of nature’s biggest shape-shifter, Uluru, is immensely powerful to people.”</span></p>

International Travel

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Sally Field opens up about her controlling relationship with Burt Reynolds

<p>Sally Field is revealing more about her one-time relationship with the late Burt Reynolds in her new memoir, <em>In Pieces</em>.</p> <p>Released on Tuesday, the book exposed the pair's tumultuous relationship as Field described the actor – who she dated for several years since the beginning of 1977 – as controlling and distant.</p> <p>“By the time we met, the weight of his stardom had become a way for Burt to control everyone around him, and from the moment I walked through the door, it was a way to control me. We were a perfect match of flaws,” she wrote. “Blindly I fell into a rut that had long ago formed in my road, a pre-programmed behaviour as if in some past I had pledged a soul binding commitment to this man.”</p> <p>Reynolds, who first met Field on the set of <em>Smokey and the Bandit</em>, told <em><a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/11/burt-reynolds-on-career-bankruptcy-regrets" target="_blank">Vanity Fair</a></em> in 2015 that Field was the “love of my life".</p> <p>“I was always flattered when he said that,” Field told Diane Sawyer on <em>Good Morning America</em>. “But he was a complicated man.”</p> <p>Field has previously spoken to <em><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/11/books/sally-field-burt-reynolds-in-pieces-memoir.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a></em>, saying she was “glad” Reynolds wasn’t around to read her book. Reynolds died on September 6 at the age of 82.</p> <p>“This would hurt him,” she said in the interview last week. “I felt glad that he wasn’t going to read it, he wasn’t going to be asked about it, and he wasn’t going to have to defend himself or lash out, which he probably would have.”</p> <p>Field opened up about her dark past in her book as she revealed that she had been molested by her stepfather during her childhood, something that later on affected the relationship she shared with Reynolds.</p> <p>She told <em>The New York Times</em> that her time with Reynolds was “confusing and complicated, and not without loving and caring, but really complicated and hurtful to me.” </p>

Movies

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Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood renews wedding vows with wife

<p>Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood has renewed wedding vows with his 40-year-old wife Sally in an intimate commitment ceremony to mark their fifth anniversary together.</p> <p>The 70-year-old rocker has 23-month-old twins with the theatre producer.</p> <p>Speaking to <a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Hello magazine</strong></em></span></a>, Sally Wood said, 'We do celebrate our anniversary, we always go for dinner at the Dorchester and then last year we renewed our vows.</p> <p>“Ronnie and I had a blessing in a church in Berkhamsted, just with our twins, so the four of us. It was lovely. And then it was the Hamilton opening night that evening and we had been invited so, for me, that was amazing.”</p> <p>Sally believes her bond with Woods, who has four children with previous marriages, has only grown stronger in the years since they originally tied the knot.</p> <p>The two are also reportedly looking forward to the royal wedding.</p> <p>“I am so excited about the wedding of Harry and Meghan. We are having a party. I had one when Kate and William got married,” Sally said.</p> <p>“We will probably have about 30 people round and I will send out invites saying dress for a wedding.</p> <p>“It will be fun, like a mini street party in the house. I will be putting up the bunting. And I think we will do a sweepstake on the dress. Meghan will look amazing.”</p> <p>What are your thoughts?</p>

Music

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Sally Faulkner makes exciting announcement

<p>Sally Faulkner finally has some good news to share, after living out every mother’s worst nightmare over the past couple of years.</p> <p>The Brisbane mum of Lahela, 7, and Noah, 5 – who she has not seen since 2016 when she attempted to bring them back to Australia from Lebanon – has announced she is expecting a new baby.</p> <p>The child will be her fourth – and second with her new partner Brendan Price. The couple area already parents to son Eli.</p> <p>Sally shared a photo on her Instagram account of four ultrasound images – the first two of her children Lahela and Noah, the third Eli and the fourth image Isaac, the baby that will be joining her new family soon.</p> <p>The past couple of years have been quite an ordeal for Sally, who last saw her two eldest children Lahela and Noah when she said goodbye to them at a McDonald’s play area in April 2016.</p> <p><img width="500" height="334" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7817929/sally-faulker-kids-_500x334.jpg" alt="Sally Faulker Kids "/></p> <p>The battle for the children’s return from Lebanon to Sydney turned ugly when Sally hired a child recovery team to attempt to snatch them back and bring them home – and was also documented by the <em>60 Minutes</em> crew, with some members implicated in the ordeal.</p> <p>Sally was forced to give up her custodial rights under Australian law to the children’s biological father, Ali Elamine, so he would drop the abduction charges he had against her, which carried a maximum 20-year sentence.</p> <p>Elamine told News Corp last year that their two children were happy living with him in Lebanon and would never be returning to Australia to live with their mother.</p> <p><img width="500" height="283" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7817930/sally-faulkner-kids-with-dad-_500x283.jpg" alt="Sally Faulkner Kids With Dad "/></p> <p>“We don’t really care, we’re not interested, and at the end of the day I will do what I like regardless of what she says,” Elamine said.</p> <p>“When the kids are older though they will have enough evidence to know what is right and what she has done.</p> <p>“I’m not interested in what people think, you see a lot of what she has said is not true. We are all good, everyone is all good, we have a good routine and we have our life.</p> <p>“At the end of the day if the dog is barking you just close the door,” Elamine concluded.</p> <p>Sadly, Sally says she will never forget her adorable children and will never give up on getting them back.</p> <p>“I did not think for a second that the person I loved and trusted would do this to them and do this to me,” she admitted in an emotional video.</p> <p>“What I want to say is that I will never stop trying and I will never, ever give up and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that Noah and Layley know they are loved by me,” Sally added.</p>

Family & Pets

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Great news for people who haven’t seen Uluru’s Field of Light

<p>Uluru is one of Australia’s most easily-recognisable attractions, and tourists visiting out most-famous monolith in the last year or so have been <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/domestic-travel/2016/09/the-incredible-light-installation-transforming-uluru/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">enamoured by the Field of Light</span></strong></a>, an installation designed by acclaimed international artist Bruce Munroe.</p> <p>The installation, which opened to the public on April 1, 2016, features 50,000 solar powered stems and was originally going to run for a year or so. But public response has been so overwhelming park officials have decided to extend its run.</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: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media"> <div style="padding: 8px;"> <div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"> <div style="background: url(data:image/png; base64,ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaacwaaaascamaaaapwqozaaaabgdbtueaalgpc/xhbqaaaafzukdcak7ohokaaaamuexurczmzpf399fx1+bm5mzy9amaaadisurbvdjlvzxbesmgces5/p8/t9furvcrmu73jwlzosgsiizurcjo/ad+eqjjb4hv8bft+idpqocx1wjosbfhh2xssxeiyn3uli/6mnree07uiwjev8ueowds88ly97kqytlijkktuybbruayvh5wohixmpi5we58ek028czwyuqdlkpg1bkb4nnm+veanfhqn1k4+gpt6ugqcvu2h2ovuif/gwufyy8owepdyzsa3avcqpvovvzzz2vtnn2wu8qzvjddeto90gsy9mvlqtgysy231mxry6i2ggqjrty0l8fxcxfcbbhwrsyyaaaaaelftksuqmcc); display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;"></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/Bdvh6tuhVBv/" target="_blank">A post shared by Mark K (@beardedmark84)</a> on Jan 9, 2018 at 12:48pm PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The Field of Light is now set to remain open until December 31, 2020. And British-born Munroe couldn’t be happier with the way everything has turned out.</p> <p>“It took me years to get Australian light,” Munro explains. “You won't see colours that rich anywhere in the world.</p> <p>“We are all very privileged to be allowed to share this land and experience it for ourselves.”</p> <p><em>Hero image credit: Instagram / quintessentially_au</em></p>

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