| Living out the golden years
Tables and chairs have been pushed to the wall inside the SilverStarlight Lounge at RainbowVision Santa Fe. It's Friday night, and women of various ages gyrate together to Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack." Soon enough, the Pussycat Dolls tease "Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?" A 20-something sidles up to the bar, clad in a white bra and denim shorts, a tattoo between her shoulder blades. Two floors above the lounge, 81-year-old Gloria Donadello slumbers through the throb and thump. The juxtaposition of the octogenarian and the girl-party below conjures an alternative lyric: "Don't cha wish your retirement was hot like this?" RainbowVision Santa Fe is the nation's first planned enclave for aging gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people — as well as, say its founders, anyone else who wants to join the party.
Why can’t the English be more like the French?
It seems like only yesterday that Pierre-Marie, my husband, delivered the bombshell. Hortense, he said, I have some good news. I have been offered a promotion which I am not about to refuse. He smiled at me nervously. There is a petite complication, he said. The job is in London. Three months later, I found myself mistress of a chérissime doll’s house off Fulham Road, barely large enough to contain my wardrobe. When the removal van had left, my husband said: "Let us go for dinner." There is a famous crêperie on the King’s Road. (We love crêpes, as we have kept in touch with simple pleasures.) As lumpen doughy pancakes were brought to the table with a pitiful garnish of anaemic lettuce and flavourless tomatoes, I wept. I gazed out at the rain and said: "I cannot do this." My husband held my hand and looked quite wretched.
Dempsey ponders role as 2nd sexiest man
LOS ANGELES—Patrick Dempsey is too enchanted with his new movie to be bothered—really—about losing out to Matt Damon as the sexiest man alive. The "Grey's Anatomy" star, appearing in "Enchanted," appeared Saturday night on the red carpet at the movie's world premiere at El Capitan Theatre with his co-stars, including Helen Mirren, Teri Hatcher and constumed characters including Cinderella and Mickey Mouse. A contemporary twist on Disney's fairy-tale classics, "Enchanted" begins in the animated world with an evil queen banishing a princess (Amy Adams) to live-action modern-day New York City. There, the princess meets a divorce attorney (Dempsey) and becomes disenchanted with her old life. "The movie is, in essence, about true love's kiss and true love," Dempsey told The Associated Press.
Boycott of Burma's 'Blood Rubies' Urged by Rights Advocates
Burma is preparing for its semi-annual gem auction, a long-running event the usually generates millions of dollars for the military-run government. This year, however, critics of the government are urging foreigners not to buy Burmese gems, which the critics say are funding the repression of the Burmese people. Kate Woodsome has more from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong. Burma's gem and jade sale - one of the country's biggest fundraisers - will take place this month in Rangoon. .
Snow Blankets Disneyland, Ice Drapes Walt Disney World
Guests to Disney Parks on both coasts are in for some eye-popping spectacle this holiday season. Thanks to new lighting and special effects packages, glistening snow blankets Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland while Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World Resort is bathed in shimmering cascades of ice.
At Disneyland
New enchantment arrived in Disneyland Nov. 16. The holiday season finds Sleeping Beauty's Winter Castle covered in freshly fallen snow. With its exciting new look, the castle will serve as a shimmering centerpiece for a daytime holiday celebration, and as a snow-capped stage for the new music, lighting and special effects that will precede the legendary "Believe ... in Holiday Magic" nighttime fireworks spectacular.
The castle will create a magical sense of wintertime enchantment throughout the holidays at Disneyland, adding to the many delights that traditionally welcome guests when Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure parks are transformed into dazzling holiday wonderlands.
Annual art weekend
This weekend, the Charleston Fine Art Dealers' Association (CFADA) will celebrate the organization's ninth Fine Art Annual Weekend. Bringing in thousands of art enthusiasts and collectors from all over the country, the Fine Art Annual gives visitors the opportunity to meet some of the artists who are redefining Charleston's diverse art scene at 16 of the city's most prominent art galleries. Guests will also be able to participate in the Charleston Art Auction, with proceeds benefiting Charleston County high schools' fine art programs. "Founded in 1999, the Charleston Fine Art Dealers' Association consists of the city's most prominent galleries. The association is instrumental in promoting Charleston as a fine arts destination for talented artists, passionate art enthusiasts and collectors.
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