estuary english

i recently read that queen elizabeth II once said that most of her grandchildren speak estuary english. the bbc recently publicized the travails of finding a young actor who could speak standard english (aka received pronunciation) to star in the play ‘the ballet shoes.’ well it seems they were ‘forced’ to emma watson ballet and dye her hair in order to fill one of the roles. has a form of reverse snobbery taken hold at uk drama schools? click here for more details.

fashion outlawed

saggy trousers are a big no-no in some areas of the u.s. a few small towns in the deep south have passed indecency ordinances to counter what the local politicians seemingly believe to be pornographic fashion. saggy jeans and the hip-hop look. others see it as a thinly veiled racism.

nokia’s new online store

let’s not discuss a challenge to iTunes. basically, apple iTunes, the iPod, and the iPhone are overrated but well marketed stuff. nokia sells a few million handsets worldwide every day. its a non-starter. nokia isn’t challenging apple. there’s nothing to challenge. as they continue to rollout high capacity mobile phones that are multi-functional, the company will continue dominating the market it well, continues to dominate. whatever that means! no matter. people want to download music directly to their phones, not first to their computer and _then to their phones–which is the steven jobs iTune model. and the cheaper the download, the better. i’m a big fan of nokia. but i do realize that selling more music for 1 dollar, one euro or 60 pence in the long run drives a coffin further into the music industry.

in italy its against the law to praise criminals

fanny ardant might decide to avoid the venice film festival. she was recently quoted by an italian magazine declaring a convicted criminal a bit of a hero. but according to italian law, it is against the law to praise someone who has been convicted of a crime.

owen wilson versus ben becker

owen wilson co-writer of rushmore, can’t get a break. he barely misses making the cover of newspapers in german speaking countries because of what may have been a suicide attempt has coincided with what may have been a suicide attempt and/or a drug overdose by the german actor, ben becker. must be that time of year. summer was all about starlights driving drunk and being thrown in the slammer. fall seems to be all about male actor depression, drugs, and suicide attempts. whose next? tom cruise?

angelina jolie ventures into the axis of evil

article here. what exactly does a good will ambassador do? and aren’t there people working for the un who are better qualified to speak with countries that the u.s. isn’t even speaking to?

owen wilson, it’s always the comics

according to the new york post, which says according to 911 records its obtained, they’re pretty sure the bit on the form which says ‘attempted suicide’ in santa monica points to owen wilson.

i’ve never seen an entire owen wilson film. i’ve never found his style of humour or his friend ben stiller’s style of humour remotely funny. but i do sort of like his brother luke wilson. remember the vampire episode of the x-files?

senior citizen rockers don’t know when to quit

even when they are openly mocked by journalists and interviewers. that includes genesis, the rolling stones, aerosmith, and well, shall i go on?

up close and personal with sarkozy

french author, yasmina reza, who wrote the briliant play ‘art,’ was given unprecedented access to nicholas sarkozy during the run up to the french presidential campaign. her new book was released last week in france. you can read about this on focus in german, on liberation in french, and on the guardian in english. unfortunately, it will most likely take 6 – 12 months for an english version to surface. –if it ever does. although the german translation hasn’t been released either.

whatever happened to reporters and where news is going

it is generally accepted (by whomever these powers that be) that matt drudge, with the drudgereport largely reset the playing field for journalism when he broke the bill clinton/monica lewinsky story. although this bit of reporting happened in 1998, one can safely say that that was the year when news gathering entered the 21st century.

americans don’t understand international football

apparently the powers that be with the l.a. galaxy are concerned about beckham’s international schedule. as beckham played a game wednesday for england at wembly against germany, then 30 or so hours later was back on the pitch scrambling for balls for the l.a. galaxy. this is how international football (soccer) works. perhaps someone should explain to them about the european championships coming up next year and the uefa cup and so on. maybe victoria beckham can do this.

tomkat separate bedrooms

according to this article katie holmes and tom cruise sleep in separate bedrooms because tom snores. hmmm. ever wonder why her kid resembles chris kline?

sarkozy gets a tummy tuck

via photoshop http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6959180.stm

natascha kampusch documentary

natascha kampusch, who was kidnapped at 8 years old and escaped 10 years later (around this time last year) has agreed to be in a documentary produced by an austrian t.v. station. according to the bbc http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6958733.stm kampusch is a bit mythed that her mother has revealed intimate details about natascha like that she walks around with a picture of her kidnapper’s coffin in her purse in her new bestselling book called Verzweifelte Jahre (the desperate years). in the article, kampusch says she has the photo on her handy. how many of us have odd photos on our phones? although perhaps it does sound a tad bit too goth for me.

daily mail sewing the seed of hatred?

there’s an article on the daily mail website which claim that 1 in 6 east europeans claim social benefits in the uk. you won’t see articles like this in germany as the basic laws ‘guarantees’ citizens and legal residents a minimum income to live on. and most people realize that if the money doesn’t go to help the general population, the government will either line its own pockets or will funnel it into developing military weapons, like the united states. generally governments don’t know how to save and/or invest money (look at the state of pension plans) they only know how to spend or cut.

england vs. germany friendly

looks like the friendly tonight will be v. interesting. all the big names (on both sides) seem to be out with injuries including bastian schweinsteiger, sol campbell, wayne rooney, michael ballack, torsten frings, klose, and podolski. apparently philip lahm is injury free.

monster dot com hacked paris hilton on big brother

unfortunately, it was only a matter of time before this site would be hit. i would never put my cv on a resume posting service. maybe i’m behind the time.

according to die welt kompakt, paris hilton has been offered around 400K (or something like that. maybe it was more like 3 euros) to joined the ‘cast’ of big brother in the uk. is this news? no, not really. but i can’t find anything else to write about at the moment.

bourne 4

according tothis article matt damon is not ruling out starring in another bourne film. apparently, according to the article, he would be willing to do another film if director greengrass will direct.

in the article, damon also points out the differences between the bond franchise and what is turning into the bourne or rather the ludlum franchise. although the majority of robert ludlum’s novels about jason bourne were written during the cold war period, the books continue to enjoy an enormous degree of popularity.

2 days in paris with julie delpy, daniel bruehl and adam goldberg

julie delpy’s feature length, directorial debut is getting great reviews in north america. the film started rolling out in europe in june and seems to have stuck around because it’s so good. you can read a glowing review. the american actor, adam goldberg, last seen in deja vu and nancy drew finally gets a role that showcases his acting talent. the german actor, daniel bruehl, whom some might recognize from ‘goodbye lenin,’ has quietly started making his way into english speaking films. you can also catch in the bourne ultimatium. the telegraph features delpy in the saturday magazine insert.

tony wilson factory records dies, contradicts sicko film

tony wilson, who discovered joy division and is credited with having started the manchester scene has died of cancer. according to the article he learnt he had cancer only last year and the NHS refused to fund his cancer treatment saying it was too costly. so much for the myth of michael moore’s latest film ’sicko’ that the uk healthcare system is oh so wonderful.

hit films character driven not star driven

although summer films are all about explosions and action and blah blah blah. you’ll notice that from spiderman to the transformers most films have done well despite whomever appears in the film. and two of the star driven movies that totally tanked this summer in north america were ‘evan almighty’ and ‘a mighty heart.’

batman has been replaced so many time, i’m beginning to think it’s all about the cape. as it should be. would we blink an eye if the harry potter kid, daniel radcliff, were to replace toby macguire thereby becoming the next spiderman? does anyone really remember that the ever so bland kristin dunst is in the film? she’s about as exciting as volkorn toast.

the only successful star vehicle of this summer has been ‘live free or die harder’ aka starb langsam 4.0. without bruce willis, that film would be toast. perhaps that’s why damon can says no more bourne for him. because like the bond films it’s more about the character and less about whose in it. personally, i’m not into daniel craig, his speaks like he has stones in his mouth. the jack ryan character of the ever so succesful tom clancy novels has been played by 3 different actors. and nobody noticed.

does this mean that the star system is over?i’ve spoken with a couple of journo type people at leading fashion magazines and according to these people who shall be nameless, the least popular parts of their websites are the pages with musicians followed by the pages with so-called movie stars. the simpsons is one of the biggest films of the summer and it’s completely about the material.

european commission strikes back at u.s., we can scrutizine your citizens too

last week, the u.s. passed a bill which will require all travellers from visa waiver countries to forward all their information to the u.s. at least 48 hours prior to travelling. the new policy takes effect in 2008. so no more last minute trips to shake hands on a deal. now the european commission has decided that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. all those american english speaking expats better take note. on the one hand, i can understand why a country might want to know who exactly is in their respective countries. but on the other hand, doing business in the age of globalization is centered around the free flow of people, information, and ideas. but as most americans

but i guess businesses will adapt and become more comfortable with doing everything via skype and then acknowledging that signed contracts exchanged via email are equally valid as ones signed in person on dropped in the mail or sent via fax.

vanity fair german new issue only 1 euro

vanity fair deutschland has dropped its cover price back to the 1 euro price it launched with last february. it’s attached a free DVD (aka covermount) to it’s cover of a sappy hollywood movie to entice people to buy the scarlett johansson issue. it seems to be working. well, at least this week. a recent issue of cicero, a magazine for the so-called intellectually minded in germany (of which there aren’t so many) who are still stuck in 1968 (of which there are oh so many) quotes the editor with a PhD in philosophy (how useless is that?) as saying that germany won’t turn into hollywood overnight. but somehow he thinks the formula will prevail. the weekly publication was raked over the coals by an article published a couple of months ago in der spiegel in which it was referred to as‘banity fair.’ the article guestimated that banity fair deutschland was losing over 160,000 euros per week that’s over $200,000. the article was build around an interview with editor, dr. ulf poschard, who fired off a letter to the editors. only in germany do people with PhD’s in philosophy, history, insist repeatedly attaching the word ‘dr.’ to whatever. WHATever.

homeless footballers go missing during denmark homeless world cup

looked like a grand idea on paper, but to actually bring homeless people over from a developing country and expect them not to disappear into the first world ether. well what were the organizers thinking? what do these guys have to lose?

michael ballack 40m euro transfer offer from real madrid

real madrid have made a 40M euro offer to chelsea for a special doppel pack for germany’s michael ballack and holland’s arjen robben. the negotiations between both clubs is in an advanced phase and could be finalized in the coming days. sorry, it’s all in the original language. it would be more difficult to translate had a posted the dutch version.

bourne ultimatium for thirty year olds

the bourne ultimatium, the third film in the the jason bourne series, pulled in $75M at the boxoffice over the weekend. supposedly that’s the biggest opening august number ever for a film in the u.s. market. what’s telling about this number is that according to exit polls 57% of the audience was over 30. that’s pretty obvious as the robert ludlum books have been around for at least a couple of decades and so the series already has a built in audience. the guardian asserts that the matt damon is kind of an everyman and that the bourne films are perfect thrillers for our uncertain times.

that the audience for the film is slightly older than for say, the transformers is not a bad thing. the transformers appeals to the kids who collected the cards and forced their parents to buy all those goofy toys while they were in their pre-teens. and now those kids are in high school and the transformers was a nostaligic moment for them. they don’t mind that the plot is toothless and that the dialogue is asinine. while the bourne films appeal to those who grew up during the cold war. and the above 30 age group, from a marketing perspective, is a harder group to connect with than the 18 – 29 group.

new visa law for 2008 for western europe and visa waiver countries

would of thought this would be big news but so far i’ve only seen this on the financial times’ website. it seems to have been ignored by the mainstream u.s. media. business people will need to give 48 hours notice prior to flying to the u.s. the new law extends the visa waiver countries to include the czech republic, south korea, amongst a handful of others. apparently the new law does not apply to canada and mexico.

murdoch’s dad thought he had a van gogh

in 1939, keith murdoch, the father of rupert, took this painting to australia. at the time, it was thought to be a van gogh. it was later sold for 1,680 pounds (about A$4,000). i hate that these news reports don’t list things in real numbers (dollars, pounds, or whatever). that translates into more tha A$275,000 in real dollars.

eu puts maximum fees on international calls

business customers are dancing in the streets. roaming charges, another name for sliding rates, could kill anyone’s mobile bill while abroad. the eu has passed a law establishing a ceiling on what travellers pay while they’re out-of-the-country. the limit is 49 cents (in euros) for outgoing calls and 29 cents (in euros) for incoming calls. according to the article at “31.5 cents a minute for an outgoing call, and 12.6 cents a minute for an incoming call, Britain’s 3 network presently offers the lowest rate. perhaps such a law will be implemented in other parts of the world.

bourne ultimatium what james bond hopes to be

i haven’t seen this film yet. i’m debating on whether or not to pay far too much money to catch it in a theatre with people i wouldn’t even let in my apartment building or just watching it at home on my video beamer. the first two films, i quite enjoyed. clive owen was great in the first film and unfortunately it took til the second film for franka potente to be taken out. although i liked the second movie, they kinda lost me during the over-the-top car chase in moscow. it’s unfortunate that the trailer for the movie only focuses on the americans in the cast. there are some fine international actors in the supporting cast. so somehow i’ve managed to write this whole piece without uttering the name of that guy who got famous doing ‘good will hunting.’ i’m not a fan. but i’ll admit when a movie is good. and i’ll admit when a film is bad, like ‘departed’. can you say sms, the movie? the best thing about the film was mark wahlberg and his silly faux-preppy haircut.

is it 70,000 or 120,000 bridges international media weighs in on minnesota

news agencies around the world can’t get enough of death and destruction, especially when it happens in the u.s. according to pravda over 700,000 bridges in the u.s. are in danger. while der spiegel puts the total at 160,000 while the bbc states that “according to the federal highway administration, more than 70,000 bridges in the US – about 12% of all bridges – were classified `structurally deficient´ in 2006.”

getty museum to return stolen art

most art fron antiquity that you see in western galleries was stolen. or rather countries ‘acquired’ things from greece and egypt while on expeditions or during a process of colonization. the case of italy and the getty is slightly different as we’re not discussing a situation which occured 150 years ago, but more like the curator who may have initiated the transactions is still alive and due to be tried in an italian court. that is if the mafia don’t find him first.

elle, down the tubes

the publishing industry is a big mystery. why are most art directors at women’s fashion magazines men? why are most photographers at fashion magazines gay? or in the case of elle, way too old to spot fashion. the guy whose been photographing covers for elle for years is way into his 60s. let’s think. 66 years ago, what was going on? well, i definitely wasn’t born. this guy was born in the 1940s. he came of age during the so-called ‘roaring 60s’ or was it the 20s that was referred to as ‘roaring.’ he probably thinks back nostalgically on the days of janis joplin, jimmy hendrix, and is quite excited that marianne faithfull has got a new movie out. yawn. double yawn. no wonder nobody thinks about elle.

the magazine has been revamped. lindsay lohan is its new covergirl. how tired is that? i was a great fan of elle, once upon a time. but i will admit that i’ve not thought about the publication in years. the british version was always much better than the american version. but i don’t think 20 somethings buy this magazine. come to think of it, i don’t believe 20 somethings are buying too many other magazines as well.

prague tourism down

according to a recent report tourism has fallen in prague. many blame word-of-mouth regarding poor service. tax-free spending for japanese visitors has fallen by 26%. and apparently prague is having a difficult time attracting visitors for a second time.

i visited prague for the first time over 10 years ago. beer was still around 50 cents and the food was authentically czech. my friend and i were repeatedly ripped off at restaurants. whenever we sat down at a table, a waitress would immediately bring us condiments. and although we would never used them, we were charged for the stuff being on our table. we soon learned to wave these items away. but ultimately, we had an enjoyable time.

3 years back, i visited the city for a second time. i was amazed by the transformation. we were hardpressed to find a restaurant that sold gulasch. and everywhere we went we saw huge signs in front of pubs advertising the next game for chelsea or manchester united or arsenal being shown live on satellite tv. within 10 short years, prague had changed from a mini oasis for slacker americans to a haven for middle-class brits who could no longer afford live in london. i was truely amazed.