Circus Museums Pay Tribute to ‘Greatest Show on Earth’

“Ladies and gentlemen, and kids of all ages!” That’s a favorite ringmaster’s refrain at the circus, a cherished entertainment tradition across America. And it’s lovingly preserved at two uncommon U.S. museums. It was not a ringmaster’s whistle that heralded “Circus Day” in every decent-sized town in America for several decades on each side of the turn of the 20th Century.  It was the synchronized clopping of draft horses, mingled with the rousing tunes of a brass band atop a four-ton ...

Submited at Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 10:59 pm by Gillan

Mexican Novelist Carlos Fuentes Dies at 83

Award-winning Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, regarded as the dad of modern Latin American literature, died Tuesday in Mexico City at age 83. The Panamanian-born Fuentes focused mainly on contemporary Mexico and what he saw as its political failures. He published his first novel, The Air is Clear when he was 29. This was followed by such acclaimed works as The Death of Artemio Cruz, Old Gringo, and Aura. Fuentes also was a college professor and served as Mexican ambassador to ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 10:59 pm by robert

Spears Could Join X Factor; Underwood Tops Billboard

Spears Could Join X Factor Although unconfirmed by FOX-TV, many media outlets are reporting that Britney Spears has signed a $15-million contract to judge the second season of America’s X Factor. Last year’s inaugural X Factor show included judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger. After the show ended, Paula, Nicole and host Steve Jones were all let go. Rumors continue to circulate that Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato are being considered for a judge’s spot with Spears and ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 4:00 pm by Alina

Adam Sandler eyes ‘Heroes for My Son’

Image Credit: Andy Kropa/Getty Images What do Adam Sandler, a Price is Right controversy, and cartoon versions of Amelia Earhart and Abraham Lincoln have in common? Answer: novelist, comic book scribe, mystery-hunter, and jack-of-all-trades Brad Meltzer. Meltzer’s bestselling non-fiction book Heroes for My Son has been optioned by Sandler’s Happy Madison production company, while the author also has two other surprising projects in the works — one involving a motion picture about a shocking moment on the iconic CBS game show, ...

Submited at Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 6:00 pm by samantha

‘Seeking Asian Female’ Explores Gulf Between Perception and Reality

Sometimes, the ideal laid plans don’t always work out as imagined. That was the case for filmmaker Debbie Lum, the producer and director of the documentary “Seeking Asian Female.” It was also true for the subjects of her film: Steven, an aging white American obsessed with marrying an Asian woman, and his bride-to-be Sandy, a 30-year-old Chinese woman he met online.  Lum initially set out to explore the phenomenon of “yellow fever,” a sexual obsession non-Asian men have with Asian ...

Submited at Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 5:01 pm by Alina

Turkish Nobel Laureate Pamuk’s Museum of Innocence Parallels Book

Cataloging Turkey’s history during the turbulent times of the 1960s and 1970s, and paralleling a recent book by Turkey’s Nobel laureate, Orhan Pamuk, Istanbul’s Museum of Innocence opened this week. Pamuk stated his Museum of Innocence is unique – dedicated to the fictional lives and times of his characters, Kemal and Fusun, from his similarly named novel. “We try [to] recapture the atmosphere of the novel, combined with the melancholy Istanbul of the ’60s and ’70s, and try to produce ...

Submited at Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 4:03 am by admin

Book Review: City of Lost Souls

SECRET SOCIETY The next instalment of Clare’s Mortal Instrument series proves to be a gripping, supernatural read Explaining the intricacies of Clare’s fantastical Mortal Instruments series is a tough task. But I’ll try: Clary Fray is a Shadowhunter — a member of a secret society of demon hunters. Take that fraught premise and toss in some vampires, werewolves, warlocks, faeries, and a teenage love triangle, and you have got the general idea. In City of Lost Souls, the gripping fifth ...

Submited at Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 4:01 am by jessica

Women Need Control Over Their Bodies, Access To Money

“The two things women need are control over their bodies and access to money,” states Gloria Feldt, former CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and author of No Excuses: Nine Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power. Speaking on VOA’s Press Conference USA, Gloria tells host Carol Castiel and Ayesha Tanzeem of VOA’s Urdu Service that control over fertility and financial autonomy are universal pre-requisites for access to power and independence, regardless of culture or country.

Submited at Thursday, March 29th, 2012 at 11:00 pm by Alina

Supernatural Romance, Action Attract All Ages

A motion picture version of Suzanne Collins’ popular series of novels, “The Hunger Games,” opens in U.S. theatres this month.  It is expected to provide an even larger boost to what has become one of the most lucrative segments of the publishing market: Young Adult Fiction.  While book sales overall have dropped by five percent, sales of these novels – many of which feature romance with a supernatural twist – have gone up more than 80 percent. In the Houston ...

Submited at Monday, March 19th, 2012 at 10:00 pm by samantha

Publisher Who Defied US Censorship Laws Dies at 89

Independent publisher and free-speech activist Barney Rosset, who defied U.S. obscenity laws to publish works by controversial authors like D.H. Lawrence, Henry Miller and William S. Burroughs, died at home in New York this week, just a few months short of his 90th birthday. Rosset was born in Chicago, in 1922, to a well-to-do family. Raised and schooled in a progressive social environment, Rosset grew up an iconoclast, and something of a rebel. He attended four colleges before graduating.

Submited at Monday, February 27th, 2012 at 4:00 pm by chuck