| St Andrew's Day: The new battleground?
ST ANDREW'S Day became the new battleground yesterday in the debate over Scotland's identity, as the First Minister unveiled how the event was to be marked for the first time under an SNP government. In a flurry of Saltire-waving and patriotic songs, Alex Salmond said Scotland would celebrate its patron saint on 30 November with events around the country, heralding the start of a new, two-month winter festival. .
Christmas books past, present and future: Part two
When I began to research Love and Louis XIV about six years ago, I decided to get in the mood for Versailles by rereading the memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon, as translated by Lucy Norton (Prion). It was a magic experience, except that it very nearly stopped me in my tracks; hadn't the little Duc said it all and said it better? But the charm of Saint-Simon is that he hasn't said it all: he's malicious, he's deeply snobbish, and in many other respects his record has to be corrected - it's just that he is a genius. .
Local spa industry in the pink of health
�Spa� is such a buzzword in the beauty industry now that even beauty product manufacturers have taken to adding the word on product labels to attract consumers. Even though Malaysia is a late bloomer when it comes to the spa industry, it is trying its best to cash in on the phenomenon, as Presenna Nambiar finds out.
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Movie review: 'Dan in Real Life' a real treat
I like the way "Dan in Real Life" opens: After waking up, Dan throws his legs out of the bed, sits up, then pauses before saying, "OK," as he stands up. I liked this scene because this is something I have done, so it feels real.
"Real" describes much of "Dan in Real Life." Though some aspects of the film are predictable, much of it has a refreshing authenticity.
The movie takes place during an annual trip to a seaside vacation home on Rhode Island where the Burns clan gets together for a long weekend.
At the center is Dan (Steve Carell), an advice columnist and widower raising three daughters: Jane, Cara and Lilly. Arriving with his two elder daughters mad at him (Jane wasn't allowed to drive and Cara wanted to stay home to be with her boyfriend), Dan's mother advises him to get out of the house for a while.
NYPD DAILY BLOTTER
Manhattan Police are asking for the public's assistance in identifying and locating the two thieves pictured above, who are wanted in eight recent holdups at fast-food restaurants and beauty salons in Harlem, Inwood and The Bronx. The first two heists were in The Bronx on Oct. 29 and 30. On Nov. 1 the pair began sticking up Manhattan businesses - first a Harlem hair salon on West 135th Street and then an Inwood restaurant on Nagle Avenue later that day, police said. At the beginning of the month the duo struck twice more, in The Bronx and Harlem. The latest robbery took place Monday at a beauty salon on Audubon Avenue. The Spanish-speaking suspects typically cover their faces and brandish a gold handgun, and flee in a silver or gray Honda Accord, police said.
Big tune-in for 'Bachelor' beef session
Two months after “Bachelor" Brad rejected both of them in a shocking season finale, Jenni and DeAnna returned to confront the man who broke their hearts and ticked them off in last night's “The Bachelor: After the Final Rose," the reality franchise's regular post-finale post-mortem. While Brad did little to re-endear himself to his would-be gal pals, insisting again that he made the right decision by walking away without a new mate, he did a lot for ABC's ratings. “Rose" averaged a 4.1 adults 18-49 rating at 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, winning its timeslot over usual victor “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" on NBC. Of course that number may include a bit of overrun from the penultimate results episode of “Dancing with the Stars," which aired at 9 p.m.
Thrills at any age
PEACH SPRINGS, Ariz. -- A Bloomington-Normal group with an average age of 67 braved the raging rapids of the Colorado River during a two-day white-water rafting trip earlier this year.The adventure was organized by Elderhostel, a travel group that caters to people 55 and older."Normally with white-water rafting, you get spray. We didn't get spray. We got buckets," said Bill Vaughn, who at age 74 was one of the two oldest to go.Vaughn, a retiree from State Farm Insurance Cos., has been white-water rafting on the East Coast. He's been gold mining and kayaking in Alaska. He's also taken several bicycle trips with Elderhostel. He's volunteered on several service-related trips where Elderhostel groups helped clean up storm damage in Puerto Rico, restored artifacts from the Old West in Montana, preserved Indian rock art in Arizona and hunted dinosaur bones in Utah.
Disney makes fun of its fairy tales with the infectious 'Enchanted'
Surely this was inevitable. After years of watching the monstrously successful "Shrek" franchise parody everything beloved about those classic animated Disney movies, Disney is showing a sense of humor and making fun of itself. "Enchanted" has a song in its heart and a tongue in its cheek -- both in animated and live-action forms -- with an infectious energy that helps overcome the script's contrivances. Wide-eyed, would-be princess Giselle (the irresistible Amy Adams) is banished by the wicked Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) from her idyllic cartoon playland to the harsh reality of Times Square before she can marry her one true love, Prince Edward (James Marsden). (Though truly, Times Square was Disneyfied a long time ago, so in theory it shouldn't have been that much of a shock.) Back in the magical land of Andalasia, Giselle could just call out the window of her cozy home, sing a lilting song and all the friendly forest creatures would come scurrying to her side to help with whatever chore she needed -- clean the house, sew a dress -- or just hang out and look furry and cute.
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