Month: October 2022

Having not released a second of music or video imagery from “Midnights” priorto that album’s release four nights ago, Taylor Swift is making up for losttime. She’s released the second music video for a song from the album justdays after the first, with “Bejeweled” hitting the Swift-isphere hot on theheels of “Anti-Hero” at the stroke of 12 (ET) Monday night. Watch the fullclip, which co-stars Laura Dern, Dita von Teese and the three Haim sisters,below.

It’s a Cinderella story, although a prince — played briefly by> producer/writer Jack Antonoff — figures into it even more briefly than in> most versions of the fairy tale. Swift plays “House Wench Taylor,” who first> appears as she is scrubbing up the vomit “Lady Este” (Este Haim) left behind> after her drunken outing the night before. “Stepmommy” (Dern) and Ladies> Alana and Danielle antagonize the suffering star even more rudely than in> Disney’s versions — there’s no telling what Uncle Walt would have thought of> the promise of “diamond tassel nipples” — before Swift transforms herself in> a starfield made up of diamonds. She then ghosts the barely glimpsed> Antonoff, maybe all the better to return to the giant cocktail glasses she> was cavorting in with “Fairy Goddess” von Teese. Pat McGrath, one of the> world’s most famous makeup artists, also puts in a cameo.

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Haim taunts Taylor Swift in the prologue to Swift’s “Bejeweled” music video

Discussing the video on “The Tonight Show,” airing on the east coast roughlyaround the same time the video was premiering on YouTube, Swift told JimmyFallon there are “a psychotic amount” of Easter eggs embedded in the visuals.“We have a PDF file for the Easter eggs in this video, because there are somany we could not keep track.”

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In contrast to “Anti-Hero,” “Bejeweled,” as a song, is all about self-confidence, almost as an act of counter-programming to the highly touted self-effacement of the first single. It’s a breakup song, or at least a we-might-break-up song, but also the truly sparkliest number on the album, closer tothe shiny heights of a “Lover” track like “Me” or “You Need to Calm Down ”than any other tune on “Midnights.” Of all her songs about troubledrelationships, it’s one of the least troubling. The message: She is enchantedto leave you.

But that lyrical content has little to do with the music video, where Swiftfinds something even more charming than a prince: a chance to tie in with astory centered on on her running stroke-of-midnight theme.

One development that fans had hoped for with Swift’s “Tonight Show” appearancedidn’t quite pan out. Swifties had hoped she’d be announcing her 2023 tour,but she allowed only that she would like to do one… which may or may not becode for the entire thing being locked and loaded. In any case, Swifties whowill have to wait a little longer for tour details can occupy themselves till3 am or later by collecting freshly laid eggs.

One clue to future plans that doesn’t even seem particularly subtle: a stronghint in the video that “Speak Now” will be the next “Taylor’s Version” re-recording to come out. In the clip, Swift pushes a purple elevator button forthe third floor — and she wore a purple dress on the cover of “Speak Now,” herthird album. Less popular as a theory, but not completely unviable, is theremoter possibility that the color/number combo could just mean that “LavenderHaze” will be the third single or video from the new album.

The “Bejeweled” video and Fallon visit capped a day in which the news brokethat “Midnights” has already collected more than a million album-equivalentunits, the first album to do so in a week since Swift’s own “Reputation” in2017. Luminate reported that the album stood at about 1.2 million units afterjust three days, with close to a half-million copies sold on the vinyl format.

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It’s been nearly 60 years since William Shatner flew the un friendly skiesin “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” — one of the most famous installments of RodSerling’s seminal horror series, The Twilight Zone. Directed by RichardDonner, the episode features the Star Trek icon as Bob Wilson, who is flyinghome with his wife Julia (Christine White) after being discharged from thesanitarium, where he’s been recovering from a nervous breakdown. But in themiddle of the flight, he notices a strange figure on the wing of the planethat only he can see. What he’s witnessing is a gremlin attack — and not ofthe “don’t feed them after midnight” variety.

Premiering on Oct. 11, 1963, “Nightmare” is the first episode many think ofwhen The Twilight Zone theme starts playing. And to this day, Shatner stillfinds himself gremlin-spotting when he gets on an airplane. “I used to playthat game with my kids,” the actor tells Yahoo Entertainment with a laughduring a conversation about his new memoir, Boldly Go. “They’d bring thehostess over and, and I’d be looking at that window and everybody would roarwith laughter.” (Watch our video interview above.)

That’s not how Shatner felt when he originally filmed the episode, though.Instead, he spent much of his time on set concerned that “Nightmare” would bea career-killer. At the time, the Montreal-born Shatner was a regularsupporting player in American television, with a résumé that included suchshows as Naked City and Alfred Hitchock Presents. In fact, “Nightmare” washis second appearance on The Twilight Zone , having previously starred inthe 1960 episode, “Nick of Time,” as one-half of a honeymooning couple who runafoul of a devilish fortune-teller machine. (Both episodes were penned byRichard Matheson, author of the hugely influential vampire novel, I AmLegend.)

Shatner and Patricia Bresline in The Twilight Zone episode, “Nick of Time.”(Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection)

“Nightmare” was a more ambitious episode than the small-scale “Nick of Time,”which also meant that The Twilight Zone ‘s budgetary restraints were moreevident, at least to Shatner. Specifically, he found himself skeptical of theepisode’s gremlin, who was played by stuntman Nick Cravat in a costume thatdidn’t exactly strike fear into the star’s heart. “What was amusing was theacrobat who was in a little furry suit on the wing of the [plane],” Shatnersays now. “There were times when I looked at him, and I thought: ‘This ismaybe the worst thing I’ve ever done!'”

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Still, when you’re a working actor that’s a few years off from his big break —Star Trek: The Original Series wouldn’t take flight until 1966 — you’reusually just glad to be collecting a paycheck. “I was so filled with gratitudethat I was being paid and could pay my bills,” Shatner says of how he offsethis concerns about the creative quality of the episode. “The fact that itmight be beyond laughable never occurred to me.”

The Gremlin (Nick Cravat) bedevils Shanter in the “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”episode of The Twilight Zone. (Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection)

Donner, of course, would later go on to direct blockbusters like Superman:The Movie and The Omen , but Shatner says that the young director didn’texactly have the time on the “Nightmare” set to talk to him about his artisticapproach. “The directing was like, ‘Why don’t you say that louder or faster?’I don’t think that [art] occurred to anybody. I think what was occurring topeople was get the shot before the sun set!”

While Shatner spends the majority of “Nightmare” frozen in his chair, theactor — whose fisticuffs as Captain Kirk are still unmatched in sci-fi TVhistory — did get physical in the climax, when Bob shatters his airplanewindow to take a shot at the gremlin. “I’ve done a lot of stunts and takingterrible risks … putting myself through a window was nothing,” he saysmodestly. “Sometimes I’ve done foolish things, and I don’t know why. I don’tknow what I’m proving to myself or anybody else, but it never occurs to methat I’m going to get hurt.”

“I was on the West Coast one time, and we were shooting a motorcyclesequence,” Shatner continues, recalling one particularly dangerous stunt. “Ihad to jump the motorcycle, and I came to the lip and stopped. The stuntmangot on, jumped the motorcycle and broke his back! It could have been me.”

Shatner and Christine White in the “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” episode of TheTwilight Zone. (Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection)

Instead of tanking Shatner’s career, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” ended upentering the pantheon of all-time great episodes of television. It’s beenreferenced and parodied countless times in everything from sharknado to TheSimpsons and so thoroughly defines The Twilight Zone that it’s been remadetwice in subsequent franchise continuations. John Lithgow played Shatner’srole in the George Miller-directed “Nightmare” installment that appeared in1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie and Adam Scott played a variation on thepart in an episode of the 2019 Paramount+ series overseen by Jordan Peele.

For Shatner, the longevity of “Nightmare” can be chalked up to one very simpleexplanation: Flying still freaks many people out, even if the idea of​​sitting in a metal tube thousands of miles up in the air strikes others asbanal. “One of my daughters has a phobia of flying,” he says. “When we go onfamily trips, she sits beside me … and I’m explaining [what’s happening] toher. So there are people who are fearful of flying when there’s no reason. Inall the flying I’ve done, I may have had a lightning strike or there was aloud bang, but nothing approaching the ‘I’m gonna die here’ feeling. So Ithink that’s what the show fastened onto — our fear of flying.”

— Video produced by Kyle Moss and edited by Jason Fitzpatrick

The Twilight Zone is currently streaming on Paramount+

In the first season of Manhunt two duos crossed the finish line, this year thevictory is for the detectives. Brothers Kevin and Gillian and girlfriendsZahna and Nisrine were caught in the last minute before the end. How? Thedetectives discovered where the extraction point for the finalists was, whereall mobile teams – six people in total – surrounded the helicopter that thecandidates had to reach in order to win. A mission impossible which ended withthe four survivors in handcuffs.

READ ALSO. The last two duos in ‘Klopjacht’ die with the finish in sight: “Wefell 100 meters short. Beaching so close to the finish feels sour”

The detective team did a strong job, but according to critical viewers theydid receive a lot of help. “Click line, detectives around the heli… very easyto tell everyone understanding”, it sounds. “Before the end of Manhunt Theyhave to invent something else next year. Impossible to win”, someone tips.

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Good guess

Speurder Bieke has a lot of praise for the duos, but at the same time nuancesthe criticism. “We really gave it to the finalists, because they played reallywell. But we also worked very hard”, says the inspector. “They knew where theextraction point was, we didn’t. By smart gambling, and by mistakes of thehenchmen of the duos, we were in the right place. Then it became verydifficult for them.”

It was Zahna and Nisrine’s friends who gave the detectives the ultimate tipabout the extraction site. The helicopter was supposed to land at the fortressof Borsbeek, so the friends sent accomplices to explore the area and check ifthere were detectives present. “That couple behaved very suspiciously,” saysBieke. “They kept walking in circles, taking pictures of Jeremy all the time(one of the detectives, ed.). We took a gamble and assumed that the fortressof Borsbeek was the right place.”

A gamble, because the ‘reconnaissance’ could also have been a diversionarymanoeuvre. “If the duo’s accomplices had sent accomplices to any of the otherpossible places to explore, so to speak, we would have walked right in. Thenwe would have gone to a wrong place and they would have won.”

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A heart for the police

Inspector Bieke looks back on the experience with satisfaction. Although shewas sometimes shocked by the comments. “I get criticized for being quiteharsh. But suppose your child disappears tomorrow, then wouldn’t you also wantus to work with such enthusiasm? In real life, we also do our job that way.”

© Play4

Should she return in the third season, she hopes that the human side of thedetective team will also be shown. “When it became too much for candidates oraccomplices, we hit the pause button and became normal people again. WhenLothar’s mother was upset, when that one woman wouldn’t give us the locationof the twins… I chatted with them for a long time, as a human being. I can bevery sweet too (laughs). It would be nice if viewers could see those behind-the-scenes moments anyway. So they know we’re not animals.”

Bieke emphasizes that the investigators are all creams are of people. “We arepeople with a very big heart, but also with a heart for the police,” sheconcludes.

Play4 is the search for fugitives for the third season of Manhunt alreadystarted. You can register via GoPlay.be.

TV’Vatican Girl’ is the title of a documentary series that premieres onNetflix this week. It is the story of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old girl whodisappeared in 1983. “I am convinced that the Vatican knows more.”

Also watch: Trailer ‘Vatican Girl’

“My sister is still registered at the registry office in the Vatican.” PietroOrlandi laughs a little uncomfortably. “We never had her pronounced dead. Aslong as I have no remains, she is still alive for me.”

From the bench in the park, between the houses, you can see the dome of St.Peter’s, the cupolone that has determined Pietro’s life for 63 years. He grewup within the walls of the Vatican City, his grandfather and father worked forseven popes, and it is the Vatican that has been silent for 39 years aboutwhat exactly happened to his sister Emanuela. “I’m convinced they know morethere.”

What if?

On June 22, 1983, Emanuela Orlandi disappears. She is 15 years old and thesecond youngest of four sisters, Pietro is her brother nine years older. Shehas that warm June afternoon music lesson, but never turns back. “We hadanother altercation that afternoon,” Pietro Orlandi recalls crystal clear thatafternoon. “She wanted me to pick her up, but I had other things to do. I’vebeen wondering for a long time: what if?

The guilt slowly fades – “I’m sure if she hadn’t been kidnapped that day, itwould have happened another day” – and gives way to determination. PietroOrlandi absolutely wants to get to the bottom of the truth about his sister’skidnapping.

(Read more below the photo.)

Pietro Orlandi still remembers the day his sister went missing. Emanuela hadasked him to accompany her on the bus, but he refused. © AFP

Italian Mafia and American Cardinal

Theories about the kidnapping vary. Andrea Purgatori, investigative journalistand also one of the main characters in the Netflix series, is convinced of theinternational theory. On the terrace of a Roman cafe – there too the cupoloneof Saint Peter is visible as an eternal shadow over the city and this story -he explains what the Polish trade union Solidarinosc, the Italian mafia and anAmerican cardinal have to do with a 15-year-old girl from Vatican City.

“Pope John Paul II and President Reagan had a common goal, to dismantle theSoviet Union,” said Purgatori, who has been following the case since 1983.Everything was allowed, even channeling white-laundered mafia money to theEastern bloc via the Vatican bank. “The Vatican Bank, headed by AmericanCardinal Paul Marcinkus, did business with Italy’s largest private bank, BancoAmbrosiano. When that bank went bankrupt, 1200 billion lire had disappeared(about 18 billion euros, ed.), including a lot of mafia money. Emanuela hasbeen used as a means of pressure.”

On the latter, journalist Purgatori and Emanuela’s brother Pietro agree,although the reason for the extortion is different. “Within the Vatican thereare different factions and one faction knows something about the other, andthat’s what Emanuela was used for,” is Pietro’s conviction.

dark secret

So a dark secret within the Vatican, which is not allowed to come out evennow, 39 years later. “It is no coincidence that John Paul II was canonized soquickly,” emphasizes journalist Andrea Purgatori. “You don’t doubt a saint.”

The Orlandi family knew right away 39 years ago that something was wrong,Pietro Orlandi recalls. “At our house, we had dinner at a fixed time and theneveryone was there.” Emanuela was not there and would never come again. In thedays after that specific June 22, the Orlandi family covered the city withportraits of Emanuela. Without result. “When we received a call from thealleged kidnappers on 5 July, we heaved a sigh of relief,” says Pietro.“Emanuela is alive!”

Never a sign of life

Yet the Orlandi family has never received any sign of life from the allegedkidnappers. “Normally, the family or the police quickly get proof that theabductee is alive, that never happened with Emanuela,” says journalistPurgatori. Only a few personal belongings were shown to the family: thebooklet of the music school and that of her school. “I suspect she was killedvery soon after the kidnapping.”

By whom and how is still a mystery almost forty years later. The kidnapping ofEmanuela Orlandi is said to be linked to the attack on Pope John Paul II twoyears earlier; the KGB would be involved and the Banda della Magliana, anotorious group of Roman criminals, would be involved.

Huge embarrassment

Most stories are fables, but the link between the Banda della Magliana and theVatican is certain. In 2012, after an anonymous tip, two tombs are opened in achurch in Rome. In one of the tombs, the great boss of the Banda dellaMagliana, Enrico de Pedis, is said to have been buried and the body ofEmanuela Orlandi also lies. Emanuela’s body is not found, but that of the mobboss is. A huge embarrassment to the Vatican.

The key to the mystery surrounding Emanuela Orlandi is still there, under thedome of St. Peter’s. “I was betrayed by the people I served, that’s what myfather said on his deathbed,” said Pietro Orlandi on the bench overlooking thecupolone. “That’s proof enough for me.”

TV(Spoiler alert!) ‘It’s done!’, Erik Van Looy would say. The four keywordsfor Jana and Christiaan in ‘Blindly married’: ‘fruit’, ‘tasted’, ‘lotto’ and’win’. A party for Christiaan, although the duo also questioned theirrelationship a little later. At the same time, Joren and Lien go from bad toworse and ‘snails’ Florence and Jiri actually start flirting cautiously.

“I can say that we followed Wim’s advice!” With a smile as wide as a house andtwinkling eyes, Christiaan dispelled all speculation. He was just barelybursting with enthusiasm. “It’s like winning the lottery, you want to win thelottery every day!” he said. “Although it is a pity that we are so busy,because once you have tasted the fruit, you want more.”

After they were advised by sexologist Wim Slabbinck to discover theirintimacy, the youngest ‘Blind Married’ duo spoke up. Much to Christiaan’sdelight, Jana summed it all up a little more laconic. “It was the first time,of course that’s always a bit… funny,” said the kindergarten teacher smilingand shrugging her shoulders. “But I’m looking forward to next time to see ifwe can meet there as well.”

A nice adventure that Christiaan will remember for a long time, but a whilelater the two also questioned their relationship. An underlying problem becameeven more apparent during an evening collision. Christiaan confessed that hedoes not like the distance between Lokeren and Geel, and he also does not wantto give up his job – “I have built up so much there”. “I thought, ‘Where wasthat all this time? I thought I was the difficult one and saw it gloomy, buthe doesn’t see it rosy either,” said a surprised Jana, who also complainedabout the grind and the fact that they “don’t have time to do fun things”. Yetthe shortcoming seems mainly a bump, not a breaking point. More below.

See also: Brecht also talks about intimacy

shattering dream

Where the bond seems to be definitely broken is with Joren and Lien. Jorentalks about “a Berlin wall for which he doesn’t have a tank in his garage”.This was apparent from an anecdote in which he tells how he poured out hisheart about a bad day, but received no response from his wife. “I saw thecheck marks turn blue, but got no response. That’s not really what you… yes…hopes”, said an uncomfortably smiling wine seller. In an ultimate attempt todemolish her wall, he pulled up to his wife for a heated conversation. Heasked for an explanation of why she is so blunt for no reason and why shedoesn’t communicate. No cameras at the incident, but Lien said it was “areality check”, where she “shed a tear”.

The two tell – they remain respectful of each other – that they want to goback to it. But that seems hard to believe. All the more so because Lienrevealed her real feelings for the very first time. “I’ve wanted a house,tree, baby for a long time and that’s why I took part in ‘Blind Married’”, shesays. “But then I saw Joren and I noticed that the click, the feeling, did notcome. So my dream shattered. I became frustrated with Joren, but also withmyself.” Their story seems out, more below.

Christiaan and Jana: “Speak about ‘we’, not about ‘I’”

The two will clash more often, but the curiosity, the genuine interest isstill there. © VTM

Their collision over the distance is not the first between Jana andChristiaan. On honeymoon, she said she was not impressed by the appearance ofthe weightlifting emergency nurse. Still, the clicks between the Waaslandseand the Kempenaar remain. There was their first night together, and without somany words they also say that they miss each other when they are separated.“Often I spontaneously start talking about him to colleagues and I also talkabout ‘we’ instead of ‘I’”, admitted the kindergarten teacher on theplayground to a colleague. In Christian’s eyes it can still be read that hecannot believe which bird of paradise he caught in his net. The two will clashmore often, but the curiosity, the genuine interest is still there.

Joren and Lien: sleeping in the guest bed

Joren talks about “a Berlin wall for which he doesn’t have a tank in hisgarage”. Still, he rolled up his sleeves in an ultimate attempt to attack thewall. © VTM

What actually went wrong between Joren and Lien? Was it during the ‘slidingwindow gate’, or was that just a result of something that was already going onbefore? No, “it wasn’t love at first sight”. And yes, they want to “doeverything they can to make the experiment work”, but how come Lien never madethe slightest effort to commit to the marriage? Not everything can be seen infront of the cameras, that much is clear. Anyway, it doesn’t seem to be goingwell. Until the end of the experiment, the two use up their time. Joren goesto his friends, Lien throws herself into her work. It will not surprise anyviewer that Lien sleeps in the guest bed in their apartment. Theirrelationship is over.

Jiri and Florence: “He can actually be there”

Despite their rough start, Jiri and – according to some viewers – ‘Flaw’renceseem to be the couple that takes the experiment the most to heart. © VTM

Big news from the Jiri and Florence front. The two actually start flirtingafter eight episodes. She bought him boxer shorts that he was only too happyto show, he playfully asked about her qualities in bed at the restaurant, andon the way to her parents she willingly rested her head on his arm in the car.Small things, but huge in the land of Jiri and Florence, where the ground iscovered with eggs. “Sometimes I think: ‘Actually, he can be there,’” saidFlorence, who repeatedly stated in the past seven episodes that she did notfind her husband “attractive”. “Time”, the West Flemish emergency nurse keptasking and a chin throbbing Jiri became distraught at times. But despite theirrocky start, Jiri and – according to some viewers – ‘Flaw’rence seem to be thecouple taking the experiment to heart. Working to get to know each otherbetter and forcing physical contact to get used to it. They used to callthemselves the ‘snails’ of the experiment, their feelers now seem to feel eachother.

Brecht and Dziubi: “A fairytale”

He calls him “my boy”, they send hearts via Whatsapp. © VTM

They are the quiet steadfastness of this seventh ‘Blind Married’ season.Brecht and Dziubi clicked together like two Lego bricks from episode one andthey still do. “A fairytale Brecht calls their story and that hasn’t changedeither. He calls him “my boy”, they send hearts via Whatsapp. But physicallythey are still in an “beginning stage”, Brecht confides to his friends. Forthose interested in the details: “Steps have been made, but many things havenot yet come to fruition.” The two are heading for an almost flawless course.

At the beginning of this year, shortly after the launch of the other newstreaming service Viaplay, HBO Max made a splash in the Dutch market. Got newsubscribers lifetime whopping 50% discount if they took out amembership in the first weeks. The third newcomer to the streaming landscapeof 2022, SkyShowtime now appears to offer the same promotion at the Dutchintroduction.

New streaming service SkyShowtime offers a lifetime discount of 50% in theNetherlands

Last month, the new streaming service SkyShowtime went live in the first fourEuropean markets: Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. If you took a look atthe website from one of these countries, it turned out that you veryattractive offer received from the video on demand platform: 50% discountfor life.

This is also the case in the Netherlands. A SkyShowtime subscription herenormally costs € 6.99 p/m, but this price is reduced by the promotion to avery competitive cost of only €3.49 per month. Film and series lovers willhave 42 days to take advantage of the promotion, because the offer will expireon December 6th.

SkyShowtime went live in the Netherlands on Tuesday 25 October 2022

In the Netherlands, SkyShowtime was launched in the morning of Tuesday,October 25, 2022 launched. This morning a large catalog with many films andseries appeared online at the video on demand platform. You can now watch allthose titles for half the price. All your life.

As a result of the Scandinavian discount campaign, the Streamwijzer editorshave already made inquiries with the streaming service to ask whether thelifetime offer will also be introduced here. The SkyShowtime spokesperson wasunable to confirm or deny this at the time, but made it clear that we have asimilar system in the Netherlands “competitive” could expect surprise at a_“exceptional price”_.

“The price will be competitive, allowing us to offer great content at anexceptional price. We will announce this in the coming weeks.” – Spokesperson for SkyShowtime*

HBO Max organized the same temporary discount at the beginning of this year

It is certainly a fantastic action, but not quite exceptional anymore. HBOMax was launched in the Netherlands in March and then the Netherlands fellhead over heels for their offer: 50% off forever. At least, until one day youcancel your subscription. Then you lose your advantage and it cannot berecovered.

SkyShowtime may have been inspired by HBO Max’s offering, which was receivedwith great enthusiasm by Dutch film and series lovers. The conditions of thepromotion are similar: the discount expires if you cancel yoursubscription and price increases also apply to your membership, althoughof course only for half. We will of course immediately announce further newsvia your mail as soon as we find out more and you will also find it directlyin the Facebook group with SkyShowtime viewers. You can of course always keepan eye on our website and social media channels for updates.

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• Original statement in English: “Pricing will be competitive offering great content at exceptional value and will be announced in the coming weeks”

It was busy in Amsterdam this weekend. Yes, that may be called a tautology,but this weekend it was very busy in Amsterdam. People, laughing, merry, camefrom all over the world, colored lamps, searchlights and dozens of flagsdecorated the capital. An important event had begun: the Cello Biennale. (Andcoincidentally also the Amsterdam Dance Event)

The Cello Biennale is one of the largest events in honor of the cello in theworld. A cheerful affair, for which the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ is covered withrice paper cello lanterns and where you have to be careful not to get knockedover by another person with a cello case on his back who recognizes an oldfriend behind him. For young and old cello talent, the Biennale is a biennialmeeting place, reunion, market, fair, learning school, showcase and stage inone.

Maya Fridman during the night concert Time Behold Now. Photo Foppe Schut

Many world premieres

The first stroke of 2022 was for Wojciech Fudala of the Polish Cello Quartet,who opened the well-attended opening concert. A little later that concertsounded like a treat, the first of a wide range of (postponed) world premieresthis edition: Calliope Tsoupaki’s Behind the Moon. Larissa Groeneveldsounded wonderfully with big fast jumps, long building tones and finallywobbly descending glissandos, again and again a thin hope that burst intodoubt, like a kind of soundtrack to the Sisyphus myth.

The new works of Willem Jeths (Second cello concerto: Nell ‘Oltretomba) andMartijn Padding (Second cello concerto: Swift, Gray and Spacious ) were lessimpressive. On Friday, Jeths had bad luck with the substitute cellist LeonardElschenbroich (for a sick Johannes Moser). Elschenbroich must have had toolittle time to put his theatrical mimicry into his playing. As cool as theoften-recurring raw string pluck followed by a finger sweeping down the string(so you hear a pjieeuwww up) is, Nell ‘Oltretomba suffered from stress ofdirection choice and was breaking new ground for too long. Shostakovich wasmore memorable that evening’ First cello concerto by Victor Julien-Laferrière and the super playing Dutch Chamber Orchestra.

On Saturday Padding’s new work sounded. With many hasty motifs and percussiontrumps, it was interesting to create the illusion of a direction, whilemusically little actually happened. The spectacle here was the coffee cup thatMatt Haimovitz suddenly stuffed under his strings with a nails-over-the-blackboard sound, after which his cello chafed and crunched like a maximallydistorted electric guitar, resulting in a rather comical dichotomy in theResidentie Orkest: from a concertmaster who could hardly contain his laughterto an orchestra member who frowned so deeply that her eyes became slits.

Artist in residence Jean Guihen Queyras plays with the Residentie Orkestconducted by Otto Tausk. Photo Melle Meivogel

Cellos in all types and timbres

You can still hear dozens of cellos this week – in classical, jazz, worldmusic and all kinds of playful crossovers. The best thing about it as aspectator is that you can get to work as a wine taster. No two cellos are thesame and no two are played in the same way. One may be grand and bulky, thecello after that thinner, or more brilliant, or more lived-in, or moreplaintive. And if several sound at the same time, you hear an animatedconversation or a discussion between peers – like people on a circle birthday.

This was clearly heard in the concert by Maya Fridman and the Cello OctetAmsterdam, which took place in the night from Friday to Saturday in front of aroom with cozy cushions on the floor instead of the usual seats. That nightthe Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ was the windless eye of the ADE hurricane, with agreat first quarter of an hour: the cello octet, seated around the audience,played a phrase one by one, long or short, high or low, of a dreamy melody.One came from afar to the right, the other from somewhere in the front left,and yet another piece by the cellist who sat so close that you could hearevery sound of the instrument, every sigh and creak.

The 12 cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker during the performance ofBrett Deans Twelve Angry Men. Photo Simon van Boxtel

Not music, but sound theater

Composer Brett Dean captured this characteristic of the circle birthday 25years ago in a piece for the 12 cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Hebased his Twelve Angry Men on Sidney Lumet’s 1957 film about twelve men whomust agree on the guilt or innocence of a teenager suspected of murder. Deanput every voice into a cello part. The piece has been on the program of the 12cellists for 25 years and that’s a good thing because Twelve Angry Me npulled you to the edge of your seat on Sunday. You could hear the boy’s pleas,the thoughtful or haughty silence of the gentlemen, the murmurs and murmurs bysome, the occasional exclamation, doubt, the flaring up discussion and frankquarrel. You heard exactly which cellists agree and which don’t. This was nolonger music, but sound theatre. A highlight of the weekend.

Music’Nice try’ is the name of the first single by Charlotte Canoot (25), whoyou know from ‘Regi Academy’. A reference to her own love life. “How often domen think they can ‘convert’ me, or that I haven’t met the right one yet?” sheasks herself in ‘Hello All’.

While Charlotte took her chance in ‘Regi Academy’, she also worked behind thescenes under the name CHAR on her own single. “’Nice try’ is about my ownlife,” she says. “I like women, but most people who hear that fall completelyout of the blue.”

What will you hear?

Men who think they can ‘convert’ me, that I haven’t met the right one yet, orpeople who question my sexuality because I’m ‘so feminine’. As if only boyishgirls can be lesbian! Although I have to admit that I made that mistakemyself.

(Read more below the photo)

Charlotte Canoot (right) in ‘Regi Academy’. © VTM

How so?

When my friends talked about handsome boys, I could never have a say. Thatdidn’t interest me, I didn’t feel what they felt. It was because I likedwomen, it didn’t get through to me. After all, I did not recognize myself inthe image of the outside world of the LGBTQ world, in which lesbian girlsoften have shorter hair, are boyish…

While you are just a very feminine type.

Voila. I like to sing and dance, have no interest in football. Maybe that’swhy I didn’t know any lesbian women, so it wasn’t until later, when I startedmy higher education, that I started to realize that I like women.

Can you blame the men who think you are ‘too feminine’ to be a lesbian?

Somehow I understand them. But I regret that I always have to defend myorientation. And I try to make that clear with my song: we do pretend as asociety that we are very open-minded, but when it comes to orientation, westill think very much in boxes.

Is that a problem?

Yes. For example: I am single. I’ve never had a really meaningful relationshipwith a woman and I find it quite difficult to date. I have a heterosexualgroup of friends and go to standard pubs and dances the way I like. But thereality is that much of the gay community has its own cafes and clubs. Thatmakes dating a lot easier, but why should I suddenly have to go to differentcafes than my friends? To find a lover? Well, at the moment I don’t lose sleepover my relationship status. When it comes, I’ll be happy, but to be honest,I’ve got my hands full with my musical career now.

Charlotte Canoot launches her first self-written song: ‘Nice try’. © rv

Also watch:

BAM! What a closing event of the Regi Family in the Sportpaleis, with thewinners of the ‘Regi Academy’:

Also read:

Arno and Melanie after winning ‘Regi Academy’: “School has to give way now”

Regi announces not one, but two winners in the live final ‘Regi Academy’:”Fortunately, Hanne is taking it sporty”

Surprise! Two votes win ‘Regi Academy’

Regi quickly sells out the Sportpaleis and announces a new concert in 2023’The Return’

One year after victory, Pauline shows up in ‘Regi Academy’: “I’m young, butI’ve already contradicted Regi” (+)

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Kim Kardashian is speaking up against antisemitic rhetoric, following a seriesof remarks made by ex Kanye West and an uptick in antisemitic incidents in theLos Angeles area over the weekend.

On Monday morning, the reality star shared her thoughts on social media,writing, “Hate speech is never OK or excusable.”

“I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violenceand hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end,” shewroteon Twitter.

RELATED: John Legend, Lizzo and More Call Out Kanye West for Antisemitic andBullying Posts: ‘Unacceptable’

The 42-year-old SKIMS founder’s statement came after Boy George lashed out ather on social media for failing to condemn the 45-year-old rapper’s remarks.Earlier this month, West shared in now-deleted social media posts that hewanted to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”

‘I’m kind of appalled that not more artists have come out and spoke againstwhat he’s saying,” the Culture Club singer, 61, said on Instagram.

Kim Kardashian, Kanye West

Todd Owyoung/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty; Brad Barket/Getty Kim Kardashianand Kanye West

“I’m appalled that Kim Kardashian hasn’t come out and added her voice to thisdebate, because this woman has children with Kanye, so she must understand asa mother what it feels like for little Jewish children to hear these f—ingcomments, how demoralizing and terrifying it must be.”

For more on this story, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE EveryDay.

He added: “As a gay man I have experienced years of prejudice, so the idea of​​doing that to someone else based on their race or their color or theirsexuality or their gender is just f—ing appalling to me, and it should beappalling to you.”

Over the weekend, banners were unfurled on a 405 freeway overpass thatfeatured antisemitic signs and referenced West with the words, “Kanye is rightabout the Jews.”

According to KTLA, other white supremacist signs have appeared several timesthis year over 101 Freeway overpasses in Ventura County.

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The activity is all part of a rise of antisemitic vitriol.

Last year marked an all-time high for such incidents, according to the Anti-Defamation League, with attacks against synagogues and Jewish communitycenters increasing by 61%, and a total of 2,717 occurrences of assault,harassment and vandalism reported to the ADL.

Following the incident, celebrities including Khloé Kardashian, ReeseWitherspoon and Amy Schumer have stood in solidarity with Jewish people andresponded to a post by Jessica Seinfeld.

“If you don’t know what to say, you can just say this in your feed,” Seinfeld,51, wrote, alongside a graphic with the words “I support my Jewish friends andthe Jewish people.”

RELATED VIDEO: Khloé Kardashian, Other Stars Share Support for Jewish PeopleAfter Kanye West ‘s Antisemitic Remarks

Khloe Kardashian reposted thewords lateSunday across her social media channels, while Witherspoon weighed in onTwitter.

“Anti-Semitism in any form isdeplorable. in person.Online. Doesn’t matter where. It’s hate and it’s unacceptable,” the __Witherspoon tweeted on Sunday, later sharing her words to her InstagramStories. “Completely understand why my Jewish friends/ colleagues arefrightened for their families. This is a very scary time.”

In the weeks since West made his statements, the rapper — who legally changedhis name to Ye last October — has been dropped by brands like Balenciaga andremoved from social media platforms, including Twitter and Instagram. A dealto acquire Parler has since been announced, the controversial conservativesocial media site’s parent company saying that West’s planned purchase willensure “an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome.”

Meanwhile, John Legend, Lizzo, Jack Antonoff, Howard Stern and MichaelRapaport were among a slew of celebrities who spoke out against West’s hatefulcomments earlier this month.

Harvey Weinstein was a serial predator who used business meetings to sexuallyassault women over the course of decades, according to prosecutors in theformer Hollywood mogul’s LA trial, which began opening statements on Mondaymorning.

Weinstein’s defense team will deliver their opening statement to the jury onMonday afternoon, and will likely paint a very different picture of theirclient, who denies all wrongdoing, and is facing 11 charges vote from theaccounts of five women whose allegations span from 2004 to 2013.

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Weinstein is already serving a 23-year sentence from his New York rape andsexual assault conviction in 2020. If convicted in the current Los Angelestrial, Weinstein could be behind bars for life.

Nine women will testify throughout the trial, which is expected to last twomonths. In addition to the five women whose charges are the basis of thesexual assault and rape charges, four women will take the stand as supportingwitnesses, in an effort to establish a pattern of Weinstein’s behavior.

“Each of these women came forward independent of each other, and none of themknew one another,” Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson said as he addressedthe jury. He put up photos of all of the women who will testify throughout thetrial, and read quotes from them detailing their alleged assaults in graphicdetail, including depictions of forcible oral sex, rape, groping and fondling.

“I’m shaking and I’m kind of being dragged to the bedroom,” one women said.

Another said, “He was masturbating, he started putting his hand down my shirtunderneath my bra.”

“He undressed me and was like fondling my breast and jacking off and then likecame on my face,” according to another woman, whose remarks were read by theprosecutor.

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Thompson spoke to the jury — comprised of nine men and three women — fornearly an hour and a half. He presented stories from the Jane Does and thesupporting witnesses who would be taking the stand in the case, includingJennifer Siebel Newsom, who alleges Weinstein raped her in 2005, and unchargedwitness Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, who claims she was assaulted in 2015 andcooperated in a sting operation with the NYPD, which led to Weinstein’sjudgment, but no charges, at that time.

The jury heard a lengthy audio recording from the sting operation. Weinsteinwas heard giving Gutierrez career advice and promising to help her as anactress, as he allegedly groped her breast and tried to get her into a hotelroom. “Don’t embarrass me at the hotel. I’m here all the time,” Weinstein isheard saying in the recording. When Gutierrez says she is uncomfortable,Weinstein swears on his children he is “not going to do anything,” beforeappearing to threaten her. “Five minutes. Don’t ruin your friendship with mefor five minutes,” he said in the 2015 recording. “If you don’t trust me, thenwe have no reason to do anything, and you will lose big opportunities.”

When addressing Siebel Newsom’s alleged rape, the prosecutor reminded the jurythat this occurred long before she was married to California Governor GavinNewsom. “Seventeen years ago, when she met the defendant in 2005, she was apowerless actor trying to make her way in Hollywood,” Thompson said.

The alleged rape occurred when Weinstein invited Newsom to “discuss hercareer” at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles. They initially had with priorat the Toronto Film Festival. Siebel Newsom assumed the meeting would be atthe public hotel restaurant and that Weinstein’s staff members would be withhim, so she would’t be alone, Thompson said. When she arrived, she learned themeeting would be in a hotel room. She sat on the couch and awaited Weinstein,who entered the room with five or six other people, but “to her surprise,”they quickly left, Thompson said.

“She was nervous and uncertain of how to navigate this situation with one ofthe most powerful people in Hollywood,” the prosecutor said of Siebel Newsom’smind frame in the moment.

During the conversation, Weinstein went to the bathroom and changed into abathrobe. “She was shocked, and her mind raced,” Thompson says. Weinsteinasked her to touch him, and when she refused, he moved toward her and referredto a “list of A-List actresses whose careers he supposedly made,” Thompsontold the jury. “His voice moved from pleading to aggressive and demanding,” ashe forced Siebel Newson onto the bed as she was crying and shaking. “Shecouldn’t get any words out because of her fear,” he said.

That’s when Weinstein allegedly said, “Relax, this is going to make you feelbetter.” He then forced his mouth onto her vagina without any consent. Andthen, he got on top of her, and forcibly raped her.

Like Siebel Newsom and Gutierrez’s alleged assaults, the prosecution laid outa pattern involving Weinstein assaulting women in hotel rooms, tied tobusiness events or meetings. He would either show up unannounced at women’shotel rooms, late in the night after film festivals, when he would use hispower and connections to force his way past lobby staff and into the women’srooms; or he would arrange a meeting under the guise of helping an aspiringactress or model get cast in a project, which would then turn into him forcingthe women into his hotel room, where he would violently assault them. Often,according to the deputy DA, he would have female aides with him, who usheredwomen to his hotel room, under the promise of a business meeting, but thensuddenly exited the room, leaving the women alone with Weinstein and scared.

Many of the instances that were presented by the prosecutor involved Weinsteinmasturbating in front of the women. Other incidents included Weinstein usinghis large body to straddle and corner the women against their will. The deputyDA often described Weinstein’s anatomy, telling the jury that the women willall describe his abnormal testicles when they take the stand. Weinstein wouldtypically wear hotel bathrobes, ask for massages and shower in front of thewomen, according to the prosector — who told the jury that all of the womensaid no, pleaded with Weinstein to stop, and cried, screamed or shook duringthe interaction .

The prosecutor told the jury that many of the women continued theircommunication with Weinstein after the alleged assaults because they werefearful of retaliation. The women felt shameful and embarrassed after thealleged attacks.

All of the women who are testifying against Weinstein were aspiring actresses,models or screenwriters, aside from one, a licensed massage therapist who washired to massage Weinstein, which ended with him allegedly assaulting her bycornering her in a hotel room, masturbating in front of her and ejaculating onthe floor. The other women include Italian actresses or models, who wereattending film festivals in the US All of the key witnesses’ alleged assaultsoccurred in Los Angeles, while claims from supporting witnesses occurred atother industry events, including in New York City and at the Toronto FilmFestival.

Weinstein attentively to the deputy DA’s remarks with no reaction, other thanlooking ahead from the defendant listen attorney’s table, where he was seatednext to his defenses, Alan Jackson and Mark Werksman. Weinstein changed fromhis jail attire into a black suit and a blue tie, after he was wheeled in fromcustody.

Editor ‘s note: This story will be updated later on Monday whenWeinstein’s defense gives their opening statement.

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