(quote)

Maggie Smith: ‘A National Treasure’
Viola Davis commended Smith for “defying the expectations of age” in a touching tribute. “The end of an era of the sheer definition of what it means to be an actor. You created characters that clung to us, moved us, entertained us……made us look within,” she wrote in part. “You were read more

(quote)

The Champs-Élysées will be covered in an enormous picnic blanket, and everyone lucky enough to attend will get a free picnic basket of local delicacies
There’s something quite chic about a picnic, and Paris certainly has plenty of spots to throw down a blanket and tear apart some baguette – we even have a guide to the best shops for picnic read more

(quote)

San Francisco’s Lunar New Year parade celebrates the Year of the Dragon (Video)
Amid the loud pops of firecrackers, thousands of people gathered as dozens of floats rolled from Market and Second streets on a balmy Saturday to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.

San Francisco’s Lunar New Year parade, the largest one outside read more

Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession, Los Angeles, USA
London, England
Lion dance, Edinburgh, Scotland
Dragon dance, Manila, Philippines
Traditional stilt walkers, Beijing, China
Sydney, Australia
Barcelona, Spain
Auspicious Dragon Lego set 2024

Image courtesy Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images, Leon Neal/Getty Images, Ezra Acayan/Getty Images, Kevin Frayer/Getty Images, Axel Miranda/SOPA Images/Sipa/Reuters, Disney and Lego

(quote)

‘Steamboat Willie’ is now in the public domain. What does that mean for Mickey Mouse?
An early Walt Disney movie featuring the first appearance of Mickey Mouse is among the copyrighted works from 1928 moving into the public domain on Jan. 1, 2024.

“You know, he’s evolved so much and become more 3D and colorful,” observes Ryan Harmon, a former Disney read more

(quote)

Well, bless their hearts — Gen Z is killing the Southern drawl, y’all.
That’s according to a new study published in Language Variation and Change, which claims the classic Southern American accent has been slowly fading over time — with the younger generation now helping to hammer the final nail into the proverbial pine box.

“Today’s college students don’t read more

(quote)

From September 16 to October 3, the largest folk festival in the world takes place on the Theresienwiese. The festival site covers an area of 34.5 hectares. 898 companies have applied for Oktoberfest 2023. 474 businesses were approved this year, including 140 from the catering trade, 138 fairground businesses, 196 market traders and several service businesses. There will read more

(quote)

Sir Michael John Gambon CBE (19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career, he received three Olivier Awards and four BAFTA TV Awards. In 1998, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama.

Gambon read more

(quote)

Tony Bennett, legendary singer and master of the American songbook, dies at 96 “I’ve never worked a day in my life,” Tony Bennett told USA TODAY in 2011, “because I love what I do.” The great singer cited that bit of Confucian wisdom often. In a career spanning more than six decades, Bennett conveyed that joy and read more

(quote)

A scuba diver has forged an unlikely bond with a wild fish and the pair meet up every summer beneath the waves for a reunion.
Rex Colubra made friends with the small mouth bass while on a fresh water dive in September 2021. The odd encounter ended with the 40-year-old naming the fish Elvis. The pair now see each other every year when Rex travels back to the Wisconsin lake where read more

Phantom of the Opera fans can now spend the night inside the opulent Parisian opera house that inspired the beloved musical and novel.
Airbnb and the Opéra National de Paris have teamed up to transform one of the Palais Garnier’s chambers, the Box of Honor, into a lavish bedroom. While the box is typically reserved for visiting dignitaries, two lucky read more

(quote)

A prominent educator and patron of the arts, Henry Cole travelled in the elite, social circles of early Victorian England, and had the misfortune of having too many friends. During the holiday season of 1843, those friends were causing Cole much anxiety. The problem were their letters: An old custom in England, the Christmas and New Year’s letter had received a new impetus with the recent read more

(quote)

‘Momentous’: Actor Anna May Wong to be first Asian American on U.S. currency
More than 60 years after Anna May Wong became the first Asian American woman to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the pioneering actor has coined another first, quite literally.

For her contribution to read more

(quote)

Every year, a wonderful event celebrating the beauty of nature and humanity’s connection with it takes place over a weekend in Scotland.
The European “Land Art” Festival and Stone Stacking Championships were held for the fifth time in Dunbar on the shores of Scotland. Organized originally as the “John Muir Stone Stacking Challenge,” taking the name read more