Hair today: straight or curly?

 Posted on April 11, 2024  |  13 minutes  |  2739 words  |  Kary Bruening

The ObserverBeautyFor years now, straight hair has been the female ideal. But curls are back, along with short crops, rattails, dip dyes... Elizabeth Day throws away the straighteners – and asks what our changing style says about usLike many addictions, it starts as a psychological prop, a way of making yourself feel more confident in social situations. At first you only do it on a night out because everyone else does. [Read More]

How I get ready: Amanda Palmer

 Posted on April 11, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  318 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

How I get readyBeauty‘If I go to an event where I have to pass as a grown-up, I wash my hair’Since Neil [Gaiman] and I don’t really live anywhere, we’re usually at a hotel where I have all my stuff in one suitcase. Whether I am performing for 2,000 or going for a night out where makeup is necessary, I use a black liquid eyeliner, black mascara and a Mac pressed powder compact. [Read More]

In the company of men and Zen: a male-only wellness retreat in Wiltshire

 Posted on April 11, 2024  |  8 minutes  |  1624 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Health and fitness holidaysA retreat deep in an ancient Wiltshire forest offers jiu-jitsu, wild swimming and an emotional detox among like-minded strangers I was an hour late by the time my car careened down a bumpy country lane into the ecovillage that would be my home for the weekend. The Easter getaway had turned my three-hour drive into five, rain lashing the windows throughout, and I arrived for my first wellness retreat about as far from zen as you could get. [Read More]

John Nichols, author of The Milagro Beanfield War, dies aged 83 | New Mexico

 Posted on April 11, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  493 words  |  Kary Bruening

John Nichols died at home in Taos, New Mexico. Photograph: Ernie Bulow, 1990/Courtesy of Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, University of New Mexico Libraries, MSS 820 BC Box 181John Nichols died at home in Taos, New Mexico. Photograph: Ernie Bulow, 1990/Courtesy of Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, University of New Mexico Libraries, MSS 820 BC Box 181New Mexico This article is more than 1 month oldJohn Nichols, author of The Milagro Beanfield War, dies aged 83This article is more than 1 month oldThe novel, about the uprising of a fictional Latino community, won widespread recognition for its themes of social justice [Read More]

Mark Sheehan obituary | Music

 Posted on April 11, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  975 words  |  Valentine Belue

MusicObituaryMark Sheehan obituarySongwriter, musician and producer who played a pivotal role in the Script’s international successAs Mark Sheehan, the guitarist with the Dublin group the Script, saw it, “the untouchable rock star has gone out of fashion … Now people want to connect to normal, humble people. And the one thing about being Irish is that it keeps you grounded. You’re not allowed to get a big head.” The shocked reactions to Sheehan’s death at the age of 46, after a brief illness, attest to his generous and unpretentious nature. [Read More]

Sex & Docks & Rock'n'Roll review

 Posted on April 11, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  299 words  |  Aldo Pusey

TheatreReviewSeven Arts centre, LeedsBoff Whalley will always be best known as the leader of Chumbawamba, the punk band that drenched the former deputy prime minister, John Prescott. But he also has a productive sideline as a playwright, having developed a distinctive brand of knockabout, politically charged pantomime. Whalley's method is to focus on a turning point in proletarian history, then add songs and silly sight gags to sweeten the experience. Last year's Riot, Rebellion and Bloody Insurrection focused on the luddite revolt; this time he depicts the lives of some revolting Liverpudlians, holed up in their parlour during a 1960s dock workers' strike. [Read More]

Tyler Perry: creator of a racial stereotype or the greatest indie film-maker ever?

 Posted on April 11, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  484 words  |  Valentine Belue

Steve Rose on filmComedy filmsThe writer-director has announced the retirement of divisive alter ego ‘Madea’. It marks the end of a surprisingly revolutionary era of cinema “I’m sick of that old bitch,” Tyler Perry recently said of Mabel “Madea” Simmons. “Time for me to bury that old broad, man.” Usually that’s no way to talk about a septuagenarian great-grandmother, but Perry is referring to his own fat-suited alter ego, and many would agree with him. [Read More]

Brendan Hughes: the IRA veteran who pointed the finger at Gerry Adams | Gerry Adams

 Posted on April 10, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  304 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Gerry Adams This article is more than 9 years oldBrendan Hughes: the IRA veteran who pointed the finger at Gerry AdamsThis article is more than 9 years oldBefore his death in 2008, former friend claimed Sinn Féin leader ordered death of Jean McConvilleBrendan "The Dark" Hughes was a legend within the IRA, rising to become the Provisionals' Belfast commander and leading the first hunger strike for political status in the Maze in 1980. [Read More]

Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial: cant be any doubt sex occurred on night of alleged rape, c

 Posted on April 10, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1073 words  |  Kary Bruening

Defamation law This article is more than 1 month oldBruce Lehrmann defamation trial: ‘can’t be any doubt’ sex occurred on night of alleged rape, court toldThis article is more than 1 month oldDefence lawyer called former Liberal staffer ‘fundamentally dishonest’ as judge said some of Lehrmann’s and Brittany Higgins’ evidence ‘can’t be accepted’ Get our morning and afternoon news emails,free app or daily news podcast Defence lawyers in the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial have used their closing arguments to describe the former Liberal staffer as a “fundamentally dishonest man”, suggesting his repeated mistruths about the events of March 2019 suggest he might be a “compulsive liar”. [Read More]

For sale: the gates to Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch | Michael Jackson

 Posted on April 10, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  781 words  |  Kary Bruening

Lost in showbizMichael JacksonFor sale: the gates to Michael Jackson's Neverland ranchSling another carousel on the fire and draw near, for these are dark days. The showbiz gods are demanding sacrifices, and once again it falls to misunderstood dreamweaver Michael Jackson to take one for the team. We will come to a fuller update on the king of pop's many problems shortly, but for now, suffice to say that he seems to be in the increasingly familiar position of requiring urgent funds to satisfy some creditor or other. [Read More]