Thoughts from The Golden Globes Red Carpet

My favorite pre-show moment: Peter Gabriel quipped:"This is my favorite awards show: it's short, there's food and plenty of alcohol," then just when I'm thinking why am I watching interviews about party insights, he goes ahead and talks about "The Elders," a project he's doing with Nelson Mandela and others: "If they can connect people on the ground who are suffering with people who can make a phone call to anyone and get it picked up, maybe we can get something done"...

Peter Gabriel Talks About The Elders

January 12, 2009 by Tim Saunders

Rock star and humanitarian Peter Gabriel has commented on the inspiration behind forming The Elders, the group of public figures he established with Richard Branson to solve global figures.

“People have lost trust in a lot of institutions around the world, but they still have faith in certain of key individuals,“ said the 58-year-old. “We felt that if we could get a group of elder statesmen and women together, they could have an influence and leverage and help on a few situations. We went to Nelson Mandela and he set it up a couple of years ago. We have Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan. They can connect people on the ground who are suffering with people who can make a phone call.”

The Global Elders group was set up in 2007 to bring “almost 1,000 years of collective experience” to work on solutions for seemingly insurmountable problems like climate change, HIV/AIDS, and poverty, and “use their political independence to help resolve some of the world’s most intractable conflicts.” There are currently 12 active members, including Jimmy Carter and Aung San Suu Kyi. They have launched peace missions in Darfur, the Middle East, and Zimbabwe.

More information about the work of the Global Elders can be found at their official website.

The music behind movies

By A. ASOHAN,thestaronline ,Monday January 12, 2009

(...)The Last Temptation of Christ (Peter Gabriel)

Speaking of what idiots we critics can be at times ....

Okay, I know there was a great hullabaloo over what Entertainment Weekly ranked as No.6 of the 25 most controversial movies of all time. Yes, it was an ambitious and contentious movie, with Willem Dafoe as a very human Jesus who has a sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene (Barbara Hershey). Yes, the religious folk were mightily irritated, and it was banned in many countries, including Malaysia.

I really wanted to watch it in 1988, but only managed to do so more than a decade later. I was mightily unimpressed.

Indeed, the fact that it was originally envisioned as a US$14mil movie but was finally shot with a US$7mil budget shows ... very badly. The sets were horrible.

The acting? We’re talking a stellar cast here, some of the finest actors of their generation, directed by a maestro, Martin Scorsese. So what if in true Hollywood fashion, the bad guys (the Romans) had British accents (including one David Bowie in a Pontius Pilate role originally slated for Sting) and the good guys spoke like Americans?

But when did Jews of olden days speak like modern New Yorkers ... what were you thinking, Martin?

Never mind. The Last Temptation of Christ had great music, composed by former Genesis frontman and creative force Peter Gabriel, who was deep in his “world music” phase. It was so good that he worked further on the music to release an album about a year later called Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ.

Some say it’s his best work ever, drawing from inspirations and influences from all over the world, but especially from the Middle-East and Africa. It introduced the greater world at large to such artistes as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Youssou N’Dour, and should be in the personal collection of anybody who calls himself or herself a fan of world music.

And as any role-playing gamer will tell you, it’s perfect for a Dark Sun campaign. (No, I’m not going to bother explaining the allusion to non-RPGers – it would take too long.) (...)

il est court,il y a de la bouffe et de l'alcool

PHOTO: AP

Paul Journet, La Presse, Le lundi 12 janvier 2009

Slumdog Millionaire et Winslet brillent aux Golden Globes

L'équipe de Slumdog Millionaire est repartie avec les trophées du meilleur drame, du meilleur réalisateur et du meilleur scénario. On voit ici, tout sourire, le réalisateur Danny Boyle et les acteurs Freida Pinto et Dev Patel.

Les 66es Golden Globes auront été ceux de Slumdog Millionaire et de Kate Winslet. Le film a gagné les prestigieux prix de meilleur drame, de la meilleure réalisation et du meilleur scénario. Quant à l'actrice anglaise, elle a réussi un rare doublé?: meilleur premier rôle (Revolutionary Road) et meilleur rôle de soutien (The Reader), catégorie drame.

«Pourquoi c'est mon gala préféré? Parce qu'il est court et parce qu'il y a de la bouffe et de l'alcool», a dit Peter Gabriel, dimanche, en direct du tapis rouge des Golden Globes, décernés par l'Association de la presse étrangère de Hollywood. (...)

Miley Cyrus: Golden Globes Pre-Party Girl

Mingling with fellow guests, Miss Cyrus chatted it up with Peter Gabriel and Golden Globe nominee Jeff Steele, also joining her parents for a portrait family photo.

Thousands to march through London over Middle East conflict

Rashid Razaq and Jack Lefley, Evening Standard ,09.01.09

Thousands of protesters will take to the streets this weekend in demonstrations over Israel's assault on Gaza. A national demonstration against the attack will march from Speakers' Corner at Hyde Park tomorrow. It will be followed on Sunday by a pro-Israel rally in Trafalgar Square and march. The protests follow a series of demonstrations outside the Israeli Embassy in Kensington which have led to small businesses in the area losing thousands of pounds.

The pro-Palestinian demonstration is expected to be joined by stars including singers Annie Lennox and Peter Gabriel, actors Corin and Vanessa Redgrave, and Children's Laureate Michael Rosen. Their march will end near the Israeli Embassy in Palace Green. The Board of Deputies of British Jews has planned a rally to call for peace from 11am to 12pm on Sunday in Trafalgar Square. Half an hour later protesters will congregate at Marble Arch and walk to Belgrave Square.

Last night, hundreds gathered at the Friends Meeting House in central London. Speakers condemned the Israeli and British governments, with former Labour Cabinet minister Tony Benn calling for the Israeli ambassador to the UK to be expelled. The protests, which have seen up to 2,000 pro-Palestinian supporters bring Kensington High Street to a standstill, have affected independent traders who have reported takings down by more than 50 per cent. Many have struggled to pay staff and cover overheads.

Residents want the protests moved to Kensington Gardens or Hyde Park. Maryam Taghavi, owner of Foubert's Café, said: "We couldn't open on Saturday or Sunday." Craig Teasdale, manager of Brasserie Gerard, said his restaurant had had virtually no bookings since the protests began on 28 December. Police said they have had talks with organisers, but there are no plans to relocate the demonstrations.

Activists protesting invasion put best foot forward

By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter, Published: January 08, 2009

Dubai: A collection of old shoes is due to be delivered to the Israeli embassy in London this weekend as part of an organised protest against the invasion of Gaza.

The organisers of the protest, who call themselves the 'Stop the War Coalition', say they are inspired by "the spirit of Iraqi journalist Muntadar Al Zaidi, who used his shoes to protest George Bush's war crimes".

Organisers are encouraging protesters to bring along old shoes, which will be delivered to the embassy at the conclusion of the march that begins at Speaker's Corner (London's dedicated protest platform) in Hyde Park at 12.30pm tomorrow.

Shoes were also collected after a January 4 protest march, with the aim of delivering them to Downing Street. However, after being prevented from "delivering" the items, protesters flung the footwear in the general direction of Downing Street.

A host of British actors, musicians, politicians and writers have added their names to the forthcoming demonstration, including politician George Galloway, who was reportedly injured when a previous protest against the Gaza attacks on January 4 led to clashes with police.

Other famous names being associated with the action include singers Annie Lennox and Peter Gabriel; politician Tony Benn; musicians Michael Nyman and Nigel Kennedy; actress Vanessa Redgrave; and comedians Alexei Sayle, Mark Thomas and Billy Bailey.

The Stop the War Coalition has organised daily protests outside the Israeli Embassy since January 5.

PM briefed

Community warning

A group of prominent Muslims who advise the government on security issues have written to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warning that Israel's invasion of Gaza could fuel violent Islamist extremism. Anger within Britain's Muslim communities had reached "acute levels of intensity", the letter said, calling for pressure on the US to change its approach to the crisis. "The Israeli government's use of disproportionate force to combat threats to its security has revived extremist groups and empowered their message of violence," it said.

momix goes tropical at warner

BY BRYNN MANDEL REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN, Thursday, January 8, 2009

Dancing dinosaurs and fluttering human-sized flowers invade Torrington's Warner Theatre Friday night when the Washington, Conn.-based dance troupe Momix debuts its latest, fantastical and nature-inspired piece.

"Botanica" flits through the seasons and the natural world, as envisioned through the prism of artistic director and founder Moses Pendleton's imagination.

Partial to illusionist imagery, the inventive Pendleton employs props paired with his dancers' grace and near-superhuman strength to create otherworldly scenes. PVC craftily helps a dancer contort into impossible shapes. A beaded curtain-cum-headdress spins with a dancer's momentum into a glinting cobweb.

Set to a score that ranges from birdsong to Peter Gabriel, the dancers embody earthworms beneath winter's hard shell and birds and bees doing a dance of pollination and procreation.

As creators of several recent "green-themed" projects, including a commission by Mercedes-Benz, Momix adopted a green concept for "Botanica" by reusing props and items used in previous shows.

The 28-year-old dance company that resembles a moving cross between Cirque du Soleil, David Copperfield and a Rene Magritte painting tours internationally, and will bring "Botanica" to Italy after its local run.

Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets, $29.50 to $50, available online at www.warnertheatre.org, by calling (860) 489-7180 or by visiting the Warner's box office, 68 Main St., Torrington.

Robert Lepage : Le Trident accueille Le Dragon bleu

Photo LE JOURNAL DE QUÉBEC – DIDIER DEBUSSCHERE

Robert Lepage et Marie Michaud se retrouvent pour Le Dragon bleu, présenté au Trident à compter de jeudi.

Serge Drouin, Le journal de Québec, le 11-01-2009

Après le méga-succès de ses pièces La Face cachée de la Lune et Le Projet Andersen, Robert Lepage revient au Trident pour présenter sa nouvelle création, Le Dragon Bleu, qui prendra l’affiche ce jeudi à la salle Octave-Crémazie du Grand Théâtre de Québec.

Pour ce retour dans nos murs, Robert Lepage retrouve Marie Michaud, sa complice de longue date. En effet, il y a quelque 25 ans, le duo avait proposé au public La Trilogie des dragons. Les compères se retrouvent comme auteurs et acteurs pour cette prochaine production du Trident. «Plus de 20 ans après La Trilogie, on avait envie de refaire quelque chose ensemble pour voir où l’histoire nous amènerait et où nous sommes rendus comme artistes», confiait récemment Lepage au Journal de Québec.

De toute évidence, le public est heureux des retrouvailles du duo puisque les représentations du 13 janvier au 7 février affichent toutes complet, même la supplémentaire du 14 février, en après-midi, en plein coeur du Carnaval de Québec, est à guichets fermés. (...)