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Category Archives: Entertainment
Lana Del Rey “Feminism? I’m just not really that interested”
Lana Del Rey has said that she is just ‘not interested’ in feminism. She spoke about her views on feminism to The Fader magazine ahead of her new album release, Ultraviolence.
Lana said: “Whenever people bring up feminism, I’m like, god. I’m just not really that interested.” Although she dismissed feminism her definition of feminism is spot on: “My idea of a true feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants.”
I hope this means she is just sick of talking about feminism and not completely against it. Lana herself fits into this description.
Summer Books Special 2014 | Hot Summer Reads
We have sourced some excellent holiday books to pack in your suitcase. Read on and let us know what you think.
The White Russian By Vanora Bennett
From the author of Midnight in St Petersburg, a novel of love, art, music and family secrets set amongst the Russian émigré community of Paris in 1937.
Evie, a rebellious young American leaves New York in search of art and adventure in jazz-age Paris, where her grandmother lives. But on arrival, her grandmother’s sudden death leaves Evie compelled to carry out her dying wish: to find a man from her past called Zhenya.
The quest leads Evie deep into the heart of the Russian émigré community of Paris. With the world on the brink of war, she becomes embroiled in murder plots, conspiracies and illicit love affairs as White faces Red Russian and nothing is as it seems.
With Jean, a liberal Russian writer by her side, Evie finally seems to have found the passion and excitement she’s yearned for. But is she any nearer to discovering the identity of the mysterious Zhenya, or the heartbreak of her grandmother’s past?
This is a great, intriguing book that really grabs you. Perfect if you love historical novels.
The White Russian is available here.
Wilkie Collins A Life of Sensation By Andrew Lycett
1868, and bestselling author Wilkie Collins is hard at work on a new detective novel, The Moonstone. But he is weighed down by a mountain of problems – his own sickness, the death of his mother, and, most pressing, the announcement by his live-in mistress that she has tired of his relationship with another woman and intends to marry someone else. His solution is to increase his industrial intake of opium and knuckle down to writing the book T. S. Eliot called the ‘greatest’ English detective novel.
Of Wilkie’s domestic difficulties, not a word to the outside world: indeed, like his great friend Charles Dickens, he took pains to keep secret any detail of his ménage. There’s no doubt that the arrangement was unusual and, for Wilkie, precarious, particularly since his own books focused on uncovering such deeply held family secrets. Indeed, he was the master of the Victorian sensation novel, fiction that left readers on the edge of their seats as mysteries and revelations abounded.
In this colourful investigative portrait, Andrew Lycett draws Wilkie Collins out from the shadow of Charles Dickens. Wilkie is revealed as a brilliant, witty, friendly, contrary and sensual man, deeply committed to his work. Here he is given his rightful place at the centre of the literary, artistic and historical movements of his age.
Part biography, part history, part intimate family saga, Wilkie Collins brings to life one of England’s greatest writers against the backdrop of Victorian London and all its complexities. It is a truly sensational story.
This is a great informative book about the mid-Victorian age. Well researched.
Wilkie Collins: A Life of Sensation is available here.
The Quickening By Julie Myerson
Rachel and Dan want to go somewhere hot in January.
Recently married and expecting their first baby, they decide on an island in the Caribbean. Why not turn it into a honeymoon, Dan says?
A holiday in paradise. It ought to be perfect. Except that, for Rachel, it’s not.
Things take a sinister turn as soon as they arrive.
As furniture shifts and objects fly around, as a waitress begs her to leave and a fellow guest makes her increasingly uneasy, Rachel realises everything she holds most dear is at stake and nothing is quite as it seems…
A good, suspenseful and scary novel. Perfect holiday reading that can be read in one sitting.
The Quickening is available here.
Time To Say Goodbye By Katie Flynn
It’s 1939, and three ten-year-old girls meet on a station platform.
Imogen, Rita and Debby all missed the original evacuation and now the authorities are finding it difficult to place them. When Auntie and her niece, Jill, who run the Canary and Linnet Public House, offer to take them in, the billeting officer is greatly relieved.
The countryside is heaven to the three little townies, especially after they meet Woody and Josh, also evacuees. They find that by climbing to the top of the biggest tree in the beech wood they have a perfect bird’s-eye view of the nearest RAF station and are able to watch the comings and goings of the young fighter pilots as the Battle of Britain rages. Then they find an injured flier and the war becomes a stark reality.
As they grow up, love and rivalry enter their lives and, twenty years on, when the girls decide on a reunion, many surprises come to light…
This is a well written and engaging book about friendship and war. Very enjoyable.
Time to Say Goodbye is available here.
Midnight In St Petersburg By Vanora Bennett
From the author of The White Russian. Vanora has two books on this list. Her books are brilliant and engaging historical fiction.
St Petersburg,1911: Inna Feldman has fled the pogroms of the south to take refuge with distant relatives in Russia’s capital city.
Welcomed into the flamboyant Leman family, she is apprenticed into their violin-making workshop.
With her looks and talents, she feels instantly at home in their bohemian circle of friends. But revolution is in the air and, as society begins to fracture, she is forced to choose between her heart and her head.
She loves her brooding cousin, Yasha, but he is wild, destructive and bent on revolution; Horace Wallich, the Englishman who works for Fabergé, is older and promises security and respectability.
As the revolution descends into anarchy and blood-letting, a commission to repair a priceless Stradivarius violin offers Inna a means of escape. But which man will she choose to take with her? And is it already too late?
Midnight in St Petersburg is available here.
Nightingales On Call By Donna Douglas
Dora and her old enemy Lucy are paired up on the children’s ward for the final three months of their training. The two nurses couldn’t seem more different, but they may have more in common than they think, as each hides a secret heartache and new faces at the Nightingale
Jess is the feisty eldest daughter of a notorious East End family and determined to prove herself as a ward maid.
And new trainee nurse Effie can’t wait to escape her small Irish village, and make her way as a nurse in London. But Effie’s sister Katie soon begins to worry that Effie’s behaviour is out of control.
Nightingales on call and in crisis: have they got what it takes?
This is part of a series of books but the books can also be read alone. It is easy to read and entertaining. It is also interesting to find out how nursing has changed. Great book.
Nightingales on Call is available here.
After The Honeymoon By Janey Fraser
Two couples, one honeymoon destination, and enough secrets to end both marriages. Perfect for fans of Jill Mansell
How can one honeymoon cause so much trouble?
Much as Emma loves Tom, she would never have got married if he hadn’t insisted. But with Tom sick for the whole week, shouldn’t she at least take advantage of the entertainment?
Winston married Melissa after a three-month whirlwind romance. As a breakfast TV fitness star, he’s anxious to keep things private. But the arrival of Melissa’s two children soon puts paid to that.
Rosie arrived at the Villa Rosa homeless and pregnant when she was just seventeen. Now, sixteen years later, she runs the place. However, the appearance of Winston throws her into confusion. He might not remember her, but she has never forgotten him.
By the end of the week, none of their lives will be the same. But how will they cope after the honeymoon is over?
This book is perfect holiday reading. It is fun but not fluff. It is easy to read but says a lot about relationships. Brilliant.
After the Honeymoon is available here.
The Wedding Gift By Marlen Suyapa Bodden
What if, on your sister’s wedding day, you were given to her – as her slave?
When wealthy plantation owner Cornelius Allen marries off his daughter Clarissa, he presents her with a wedding gift: a young slave woman called Sarah.
The two girls have grown up together but their lives could not have been more different. Clarissa is white and is used to a life of privilege and ease. Sarah is black and is used to a life of slavery and hard work.
Forbidden by law to leave the plantation, Sarah longs to be free – in mind and in body.
But when she decides her future lies away from Clarissa, she sets in motion a series of events that will have devastating consequences for them both.
This book is hard to put down. This is a great book which is well researched and has an unexpected ending. A great book with lots of substance.
The Wedding Gift is available here.
Closed Doors By Lisa O’Donnell
A powerful tale of love, the loss of innocence and the importance of family in difficult times by the acclaimed author of The Death of Bees, winner of the Commonwealth Book Prize 2013
‘There are no strangers in Rothesay, Michael. Everyone knows who you are and always will. It’s a blessing but it’s also a curse.’
Eleven-year-old Michael Murray is the best at two things: keepy-uppies and keeping secrets. His family think he’s too young to hear grown-up stuff, but he listens at doors; it’s the only way to find out anything. And Michael’s heard a secret, one that might explain the bruises on his mother’s face.
When the whispers at home and on the street become too loud to ignore, Michael begins to wonder if there is an even bigger secret he doesn’t know about. Scared of what might happen if anyone finds out, and desperate for life to return to normal, Michael sets out to piece together the truth. But he also has to prepare for the upcoming talent show, keep an eye out for Dirty Alice, his arch-nemesis from down the street, and avoid eating Granny’s watery stew.
Closed Doors is the startling new novel from the acclaimed author of The Death of Bees. It is a vivid evocation of the fears and freedoms of childhood in the 1980s and a powerful tale of love, the loss of innocence and the importance of family in difficult times.
This is an incredibly good story. It also captures the 1980s perfectly. A heartbreaking and touching novel. Very good read.
Closed Doors is available here.
What will you read?
Jubilee Courts The EP: Go From The Blue Light Into The Moonlight
Release Date: 4th August 2014
Format: Digital Download
Jubilee Courts are Josh (21), Matt (21) and Harry (19) who were brought together in 2011 by a mutual dissatisfaction with the current music scene and a motivation to do something different. Gigging throughout their hometown of Northampton in late 2012 to early 2013, the buzz around the band grew and Frank (18) joined as their drummer. With two members now based in London, Jubilee Courts’ music reflects their changing surroundings and eclectic influences.
The band quote My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Bauhaus and Joy Division as musical inspirations. Lyrical influences come from the literary works of T S Elliott and Delmore Schwartz.
The single ‘Room with a View’, released on Stalkers Records in December 2013, was mixed by James Bagshaw, singer of Temples. A further seal of approval from the Temples frontman came in the form of his percussion performance on the track. Their debut EP ‘Go From the Blue Light into the Moonlight’ was written in mid-2013. The piece is a minimalistic portrayal of where the band began, a reflection of them growing up in the provincial midlands with some tracks representing the routine and monotony whilst others offer a contrast through undertones of romanticism and the avant-garde.
Social Links:
Tour Dates:
Saturday 2nd August – Roadmender, Northam
Rihanna Goes Rogue In Paris
International singer and mischievous superstar, Rihanna appeared in the city of love this week to launch her latest fragrance ROGUE by Rihanna exclusively in Sephora, Paris.
This week has certainly been a whirlwind for the star, from the jaw-dropping dress at the CFDA awards and for landing in hot water over the risqué ROGUE fragrance ad. But the media frenzy certainly didn’t stop the music, as Rihanna bared the rain to meet her fans and launch her fragrance in Paris.
ROGUE by Rihanna is the star’s fourth fragrance, adding to the current fragrance line up, which includes Reb’l Fleur, Rebelle and Nude.
Taking on the RoboReflex Challenge
On a cold day in May, at a hidden location in East London, I, Junior Smart, stepped up to the Roboflex challenge. A formidable task which involved entering into an arena armed with both machine gun and pistol and taking down ten targets as fast as possible and beating the time set by the latest iteration of the Robocop franchise.
In case you failed to see it whilst it was in the cinema, Robocop is a re-telling of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 classic in which father and skilled cop Alex Murphy (played here by Joel Kinnaman of Easy Money, TV’s The Killing) is critically injured in the line of duty and transformed by mega-company OmniCorp – headed by CEO Raymond Sellars (a role carried well by Michael Keaton – star of Batman and Need For Speed) into a part-man, part-robot police officer designed to rid Detroit of crime.
Fortunately for me I didn’t need to be critically injured in the line of duty to experience the delights of the warehouse challenge; a challenge where the newly ‘renovated’ Murphy has to ‘prove his worth’ to OmniCorp in a heart-racing shoot out against the clock. Nonetheless, even though I knew this event was for fun I have to admit my heart was pounding; it wasn’t just me who was taking part in the challenge, around me stood other reporters from different magazines and although we were all professionals and smiled nicely at each other, deep down we all knew that no one wanted to come last and go home to our editors with our tails between our legs. The stage was therefore set.
My first job was to be suited in the correct gear; an ominous police onesie followed by body armour and that was before the gun holster and machine gun were handed to me. Then followed a briefing on the safe and correct use of firearms delivered by Stirling Airsoft these guys knew how to put someone like me through their paces, I quickly learnt how to draw, how to move whilst firing a weapon and most challengingly, how to change weapons in the heat of a battle. I soon realised it is nothing like the movies; there is so much to think about and there is no way you can use the Americanised posturing you see in video games and movies as the recoil from the weapon at best destroys your aim and at worst can cause injury. Worse still, the body armour slows down your flexibility, the helmet destroys your field of vision. I have to be honest I had real sympathy for anyone who carries a weapon either to serve our country or protect our liberty.
Nonetheless the briefing had me sufficiently amped and ready. The target was set – three times through the course, first time machine gun, second time pistol and third time changing to weapon on instruction. I was off; the subdued lighting and smoke making it hard to see (well, that’s what I’m sticking to anyway). I managed to take down all targets in a respectable 33 seconds. The second time with the pistol I fared better; the smaller hand held weapon feeling more immediate and certain along with my familiarity with the landscape. I punched the air with my fist when he told me it was 15 seconds. The third time however was embarrassing. I had seen Robocop in the movie and witnessed the way he had changed weapons and he makes it look easy, however there is a good argument for why robots are needed in the film and one of them is because they make far less errors. I entered the arena, click, click my machine gun is on ‘safety’. O.k I think, I can make the time up, then after I take down a couple of targets the instructor from Stirling Airsoft shouts “change” meaning to change my weapon, then I not only struggle with getting the pistol out but to my horror realise it is on safety too. My time – 32 seconds only a second slower than when I had one gun. I would have buried my face in my hands – that is, if I wasn’t wearing a helmet.
When I got home I consoled myself by making sure I had pre-ordered a copy of ROBOCOP, which arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on 9th June 2014. I strongly recommend that you do the same or make sure you pick up a copy on the day of release; it is a fine retelling of a classic film and one which tries to builds upon the original’s legacy instead of merely repeating it and features some star turns by Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson. What’s more, the DVD has deleted scenes and a making of featurette. Check it out.
Robocop is available on digital platforms from 2 June 2014, and on DVD and Blu-ray from 9 June 2014, courtesy of Studio Canal.
Green Beret Gives Gwyneth Paltrow Some Stern Words After She Compares Mean Tweets To War
Gwyneth Paltrow got a lot of criticism for saying that reading mean tweets about herself was like ‘war’, but the best response comes from Green Beret and Purple Heart recipient Bryan Sikes on Clash Daily. Read on and tell us what you think.
This is what Paltrow said: “You come across (online comments) about yourself and about your friends, and it’s a very dehumanizing thing, It’s almost like how, in war, you go through this bloody, dehumanizing thing … My hope is, as we get out of it, we’ll reach the next level of conscience.”
To Miss Paltrow,
I’d first like to start out by saying how terrible I feel for you and all your friends that on a daily basis have to endure mean words written by people you don’t know. I can only imagine the difficulty of waking up in a 12,000 square foot Hollywood home and having your assistant retrieve your iPhone, only to see that the battery is low and someone on twitter (the social media concept that you and all of your friends contribute to on an hourly basis to feed your ego and narcissistic ways), has written a mean word or 2 about you. You’ve hit the nail on the head, war is exactly like that. You should receive a medal for the burden you have carried on your shoulders due to these meanies on social media.
You said, “Its almost like, how in war, you go through this bloody dehumanizing thing and then something is defined out of it.” I could see how you, and others like you in “the biz”, could be so insecure and mentally weak that you could pair the difficulty of your life on twitter to my brothers who have had their limbs ripped off and seen their friends shot, blown up, burned and disfigured, or wake up every morning in pain – while just starting the day is a challenge. How about our wives? The ones that sign on to be there for us through thick and thin, that help us to shake the hardships of war upon our return? And do all this while being mothers to our kids, keeping bills in order because we are always gone, and keeping our lives glued together. They do all this, by the way, without a team of accountants, nanny’s, personal assistants, and life coaches. Yeah, reading a mean tweet is just like all that.
You know what is really “dehumanizing”, Miss Paltrow? The fact that you’d even consider that your life as an “A-list” celebrity reading internet comments could even compare to war and what is endured on the battlefield. You and the other “A-listers” that think like you are laughable. You all have actually convinced yourselves that you in some way face difficulty on a regular basis. Let me be the first to burst your bubble: a long line at Starbucks, your driver being 3 minutes late, a scuff mark on your $1200 shoes and a mean tweet do not constitute difficulty in the eyes of a soldier.
Understand me when I say this: war does not define me. It is a chapter in my life that helped shaped me. Being a husband and father is what defines me. Remember, sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never…be close to what war is.
Cindy McCain, wife of decorated war veteran, Senator John McCain also tweeted:
Gweneth Paltrow is a joke. Her life is like taking bullets for a soldier. What a joke! My 2 sons serving in the military should talk to her.
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) May 29, 2014
Perhaps Gweneth Paltrow should go out on patrol with some soldiers. Kind of like a Red Carpet in her mind I guess!
— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) May 29, 2014
Charlize Theron Admits To Lying On Her CV
Actors are known for being a little bit economical when it comes to the truth on their CV. We can all ride horses and snowboard, oh, and speak French. It turns out that not even famous actors are immune. Even Charlize Theron has admitted she has told the odd lie on her CV.
Charlize says she didn’t lie about being able to ride a horse (and I am proud to say I can too). Which is just as well as she had to ride in new comedy western A Million Ways To Die In The West.
You can hear Theron’s interview with the BBC’s Genevieve Hassan here.