Month: September 2022

The film blonde , which comes out on Netflix today, has been dubbed a biopicabout Marilyn Monroe and her turbulent life. Director Andrew Dominik based theplot on the book of the same name about the famous actress. But that book is anovel, not a biography. Which parts of the story can we take for granted andwhich should we take with a grain of salt?

By Esther Villerius

“Marilyn Monroe is still alive – she’s reborn to tell her story; the story ofone made a star,” reads the novel’s blurb. ” blonde is a dazzling fictionalportrait of the complex emotional world of the idealized and beloved moviestar.”

The novel blonde , written by Joyce Carol Oates in 2000, is fiction.Inspired by a photo of a young Norma Jeane Baker, later known as MarilynMonroe, the author set to work.

Oates based her book on Monroe’s life, but added a lot of detail here andthere. This story subsequently became the basis for the film of the same name,which appeared on the market as a biopic: a biographical film.

There is no doubt about the credibility of well-known scenes, such as Monroe’sdress blowing up. But there are also moments in the film that are completelymade up. Director Dominik keeps the line between fact and fiction vague.

Affaires with the Kennedy brothers

Monroe once sang sultry to US President John F. Kennedy for his birthday. Thishappened in 1962, a few months before her death. That event sparked rumorsthat Monroe was having an affair with the then president. According tobiographer James Spada, the actress would also have had an affair with thepresident’s brother, Robert F. Kennedy.

The film hints at that long-running rumor about Monroe. In one scene, thesinger, played by Ana de Armas, is dragged through the hallways of the WhiteHouse to meet the US president. Monroe asks how she can help him, after whichKennedy forces her into various sexual acts.

The film also suggests that Monroe did not take his own life, but was murderedby Robert F. Kennedy to cover up these relationships. No proof has ever beenfound for this conspiracy theory.

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A love triangle and an abortion

Dominik also places Monroe in a love triangle with Charlie Chaplin Jr. andEdward G. Robinson Jr. In blonde we see so much gossip about the trio thatMonroe’s agent asks her to stop the affairs.

But Monroe has never experienced anything quite like it. In Chaplin’sautobiography, he only confirms that there was a short-lived affair betweenhim and Monroe.

In the film, the threesome’s relationships are ended by a pregnancy and theabortion that follows. Monroe becomes in blonde haunted by the thought ofher unborn child. She would have had that removed because she was afraid ofhereditary mental disorders. She also had two miscarriages.

There is no evidence for Monroe’s abortion. But she is said to have had threemiscarriages during her marriage to Arthur Miller.

‘It is what it is’

Monroe’s billowing dress is not a fabrication, but there is some debate aboutthe ramifications of this scene from The Seven Year Itch. In blonde JoeDiMaggio, who she was then married to, becomes so jealous that he beats herwith a belt. This moment suddenly comes in the film: the couple seems to haveit right in the period before.

No shortage of strong candidates in The smartest person in the world , butwe were still slightly impressed by the flexibility with which Bart Cannaertsgot through the quiz rounds. That is not entirely surprising, because thecomedian was the only person in the world to hold all positions in Thesmartest person : he was a jury member dozens of times, he was a presenterfor two episodes and now he is working on his third series as a candidate. Thequestion arises: which place is the best?

Joris BellwinkelSeptember 27, 202215:00

Bart Cannaerts: “This place. I like to play games, and _The smartest person_is a very fun game to play.”

The fun is visible.

“The first two episodes I was very nervous, but as a jury member I am everytime. Then you feel the pressure: I have to be funny now. By the way,presenting was also very intense and exciting, because I wanted Erik (VanLooy, ed.) and don’t disappoint the editors. As a candidate it is a lot morecomfortable, the only pressure is the pressure you put on yourself.”

Do you put a lot of pressure on yourself?

“Not very consciously, but I am competitive. I can handle my loss very well,but winning is a little bit more fun. Especially because I know: if I win, Ican come back.”

As a child you already designed your own quizzes. That love has never goneaway.

“No, I think participating in quizzes as well as inventing them is keitof. Inthe past year I have worked behind the scenes on four TV quizzes. Putting itall together, coming up with the right questions, it’s a bit nerdy of course,but I like it all very much.”

You are gradually becoming the quiz expert in Belgium.

“ (laughs) That is quite a difference with when I started ten years ago Thesmartest person took part: I had never participated in a quiz at the time.Hopefully the experience will give me an advantage this time.

“I already notice that I can see through the quiz maker mechanics faster whileplaying. That I have to list five keywords for a certain writer and I canquickly get to the essence: they are still looking for the title of that onebook anyway and I don’t know it, so I’m not going to list all the other thingsI know about that writer.”

I note: it is a beginner’s mistake to immediately display all your knowledge.

“Yes, you should not be distracted by everything you know about a subject, butthink about what the quiz makers want to hear. Especially in the final, everysecond is crucial, so you have to talk as little as possible and shout ‘stop’as soon as possible.”

That’s what Erik meant when he said before your participation: ‘Bart knows thetricks of the trade.’ Are there still gaps in your general knowledge?

“I’m now over 40, so I’m not completely up to date with what young people aredoing. When you are 30, you go to parties more often, you go to the cinemamore often, you know the popular music.

“Last spring I spent five weeks Today I was allowed to make, then I learneda lot from current events. Then I heard that Rihanna had a child with A$APRocky and I thought: ah yes, now I know A$AP Rocky. I work for that programwith a very young editors and that also keeps me young. (blows) Now I soundvery old, don’t I?”

Image Play4

As a quiz maker, you undoubtedly look at many other quizzes. Which one do youlook up to?

“I am a big fan of pointless on the BBC. Then a hundred Britons are asked toname a Greek god, for example, and you as a participant must then name a Greekgod who has never or as little as possible been said. That’s such awonderfully quizzical thing: wanting to know something that nobody knows. Itis often completely pointless knowledge, but that is exactly what is rewardedin that quiz.”

During your first participation in The smartest person , in 2008, you playedPhilippe Geubels home after just one episode. To do this, you had to loweryourself for 40 seconds in the final game. 40 long seconds, because Geubelskept calling ‘ what a loser’ you were.

“ (laughs) Yes, there you saw how completely different we approached ourparticipation: the difference between a player who really wants to win and thecomedian who is just his funny self. My only plan was: I just have to win thatgame here, because who knows, maybe I can reach more comedy fans this way. Iwas only doing quizzes and nothing else. In the meantime, Geubels was mainlybeing himself and everything that came out of his mouth was hilarious. He didwhat a comedian should do: joke. And he did it in a legendary way.

“I stayed in it for four episodes myself, never been funny at all and it hashad no impact on my career. Four years later I was allowed to participateagain because nobody really remembered my passage. (laughs) ”

After the final, Geubels said that he wished a ‘comedian on his way’ thevictory. But look, fourteen years later you are more famous than ever, withyour own quiz on One, participation in The smartest person and on TheMasked Singer.

“I have become more known in the broadest sense. Thanks to The Masked Singer_children suddenly know me. On holiday by the sea, the number of selfies withchildren went from zero to a hundred last summer. (laughs)_

“My participation in The Masked Singer and the fact that I was allowed toreplace Erik twice as presenter of The smartest person may have led me tomore top of mind was with the bosses. That because of that I was asked to gofor One Today and then suddenly came up with my head on TV every day.

“I wouldn’t call this the pinnacle of my career, but it’s probably thepinnacle of my fame.”

This year it has been fifteen years since you humors Comedy Cup won. Did youspend a lot of time on career planning during that time?

“No, there was never a clever plan behind it, I especially had the incrediblechance that everything overtook me or came my way. Of course I signed up for_humors_ Comedy Cup because you know it opens doors when you win. That turnedout to be the case: I was soon asked to work for television. A little laterTom Lenaerts called me: ‘Do you want to The Pappenheimers present?’ Well,yes. At one point he asked: ‘Do you want to set up a production house withme?’ Well, yes. VTM asked if I wanted to participate in _The Masked Singer_The Sound House asked if I wanted to write a radio play… Well, yes.

“They weren’t big dreams or things I was desperately waiting for, but Ithought each and every one of them was super cool to do. The lump of butter Ifell into is huge.”

Are you not only at the height of your fame, but also at the height of yourhappiness?

“I’m doing well, but I don’t often ask myself: how happy am I now? And is thathappier than last week? Happiness is in many things, isn’t it? Can you reallymeasure that?

“I just took my 6-year-old daughter to school, she’s now going to first gradeand a few friends immediately ran up to her to play together. The realizationthat my daughter likes to go to school, has friends and is healthy, we haveall the luck in the world in that area too. Yes, I can tell you that I cycledhome this morning with a big smile on my face.”

The smartest person in the world Monday to Thursday at 9 p.m. on Play4.

The Old Man is one of the success stories of series year 2022 in the US: ahighly regarded and highly regarded thriller series in which a living filmlegend stars in his first major television role.

The very fact that we can use the word “alive” in this case is worthmentioning, because it seemed like lead actor Jeff Bridges would never be ableto finish the series. Bridges (72) hung on the brink of death while therecordings were far from being completed. Four episodes were filmed when hewas diagnosed with lymphoma, but that was not all: while he was undergoingchemotherapy, a corona infection was also added. Bridges was in intensive carefor five weeks. Cancer seemed nothing compared to corona, he later said duringinterviews.

Production was severely delayed, but despite all the setbacks (the coronacrisis caused all kinds of other production headaches), the _The Old Man_finished, with seven episodes instead of the planned ten. And in the first twohours of the season it also seems as if we are dealing with a real TV classic:intriguing, smart and above all packed with acting to feast on.

Bridges plays Dan Chase, a former CIA agent who has been living a quiet lifefor thirty years, far from danger. He has a gray beard, clattering joints anda raucous voice that sometimes makes him almost unintelligible. This old manlacks the inner peace of Bridges’ most famous character: The Dude in the Coenbrothers movie The Big Lebowski. Also understandable, because as is so oftenthe case in the espionage genre, the past always haunts you, even many yearslater.

High level

Peace is disturbed when a person invades his home. Chase shoots the intruderdead and flees with his two dogs. There seems to be a connection to his timein Afghanistan, the country where he stayed when the country was at war withthe Soviet Union. While he must find out exactly what is going on, he mustensure that his daughter stays safe. A former colleague, now employed by theFBI, must track down Chase. This man is played by another acting cannon:76-year-old John Lithgow (Winston Churchill in The Crown memorable serialkiller in Dexter ). The growling retiree Chase can still fight quite a bit.Towards the end of the first episode, he finds himself in a brutal one-on-onebattle with a much younger opponent.

You can almost feel the bones breaking as the realistic combat moves throughstages: first inside a car, then outside. Strands of hair are pulled fromskulls and painful hold-ups are performed. This old man has another killerinstinct , as it turns out. However, the character does not become an olderaction hero in the Stallone or Schwarzenegger category: _The Old Man_sprinkles only sporadically with the action scenes.

More important are the long dialogues and monologues that the charactersspeak. These are of a high level in the first episodes, although they are donejust too often by phone (possibly a corona measure to protect the old actorsas much as possible).

Jeff Bridges and Amy Brenneman. Prashant Gupta / FX

Showrunner Jonathan E. Steinberg also seems aware of the fact that women areoften an afterthought in this type of series and knows how to avoid being usedonly as ‘wife of’ or ‘daughter of’. The woman who is dragged into Chase’smisery, played by Amy Brenneman, declares that she is not there to play asimple supporting role. “I want to be more than just a complication in yourstory,” she says. As a young FBI agent, Alia Shawkat also gets enough to chewon. She sometimes even steals the show in scenes with Lithgow.

clichés

But after a flying start, the series unfortunately loses more and more power,although it remains entertaining enough to keep watching. This is partly dueto the flashbacks to the Afghanistan period of the main character. It isnecessary to provide crucial background information, but the actor who has tofill in the younger version of Bridges lacks the necessary charisma. After afew episodes you get the idea that the writers have lost their gun and fallmore into the clichés of these kinds of stories. And those who expect a fullycompleted story will also be disappointed: a second season is coming.

Still, it feels good to see Bridges at work. Even if the scenario losesquality, he still makes something of it. For the actor himself, the pastperiod feels like a bizarre dream. He is happy that he can start with a newseason, he tells the New York Times : “I was in survival mode. And now I’mback working with the same actors and crew. It felt like a long weekend. Itwasn’t quite a nightmare either: there are wonderful things that you onlydiscover in such times.”

While a crisis is underway and the need for more homes is enormous, projectdevelopers deliberately leave their building land fallow for years in the hopeof being able to earn more later on.’ Shame! This is the literal core messageof the TV program ‘Take the power’ by Tim Hofman. This Hofman has achievedhero status by exposing the ‘Me too’ affair at Endemol.

The broadcast is made up of nonsense, half-truths and manipulated information.First the facts. According to research (2022) by ‘Follow the Money’ andCobouw, 22 market parties own at least 6,000 hectares of land, 80 percent ofwhich is located outside the built-up area. The joint surface provides spacefor roughly 150,000 homes. That is not nothing, but also not too much: it hasthe size of two annual productions of new construction. The central questionis whether the 22 companies consciously let their property be wasted, inanticipation of a higher land yield. In the jargon these are called stalledsites.

Prof. dr. Edwin Buitelaar published research into stalled sites in 2018. Theresult: in only 7 percent of the cases, there is more than two years betweengranting the building permit and putting the house into use. So no problem.The research also offers no leads that market parties structurally leave landundeveloped with the sole motive of collecting more later.

Striking by-catch: municipalities are the biggest ‘loiterers’ in realizingresidential uses on their land. In an extensive survey (April 2021) by bureauStec among municipal officials into the obstacles in housing construction, theitem stalled sites dangles at the very bottom. In short: there is a lack ofguidance that the phenomenon of stalled sites has substantial significance inthe Netherlands.

The first concrete example that Hofman presents is the Metterswaeneresidential tower project by Kondor Wessels Projectontwikkeling (KWP), nearthe station in Nijmegen. This is not a stalled site, but a conflict betweenKWP and the municipality about the construction plan. If the municipal councilcomes to the conclusion that KWP is not fulfilling its self-realization right,it can proceed with expropriation. That is what the councilor is considering.

In his broadcast, Tim Hofman firmly denies that the municipality can doanything if a municipality cannot reach an agreement after negotiations with aproject developer. As proof, he uses this quote from the Guideline ‘Preventingdelays in housing construction with land policy’, a publication of theMinistry of the Interior (2022): ‘The deployment of compelling (legal)measures, whether by the government or a private party, is is in general notconducive to cooperation and therefore also not to the speed of development.’That’s right, of course. I am the co-author of this publication which – afterthis general introductory remark – expands for 20 pages about the (power)instruments the municipality can use if cooperation with the market partyunexpectedly breaks down. So Hoffman is lying.

The second practical example that Hofman presents concerns Lingotto’s projecton the Smakkelaarsveld, in the center of Utrecht. In the AD Utrecht, projectdeveloper Arda Basak states: ‘We have not been asked to answer the question.Presenter Tim Hofman implies that waiting a long time brings us more money,but that is also harmful to us. Now we are missing turnover.’

It was also claimed that Lingotto had already bought the land four years agoand that the relationship with the municipality is bad. That’s not right,Basak says. ‘The land was leased out ten months ago, when the final design wasapproved by the municipality after a careful process. We work well andintensively with the municipality and all other parties involved.’ As with somany complex inner-city projects, the sharply increased construction costs arehampering the realization.

The question arises whether deliberate journalistic disinformation on thepublic broadcaster (BNN/Vara) is justifiable. The whole broadcasting countryis (rightly) clamoring against the nauseating broadcasts of OngehoordNederland. The Media Authority is going to intervene. Tim Hofman’s fake newsseems like a suitable next candidate.

Last week I was a guest at the 100th anniversary of the family businessKlokgroep. The fast-growing developer and builder is number five on the 22landowners’ charts. Together with colleague professor Peter Boelhouwer, I wasallowed to talk about the housing market in a full marquee. Hoffman’smisproduct was also discussed there. My appeal: don’t be silent, but takeresponsibility and start the discussion. Show what you do and be transparent,also in financial terms. Because this discourse does not end. The next stationis the forthcoming investigation by the Netherlands Authority for theFinancial Markets (ACM) into the stalled sites and the self-realizationprinciple. We are ready, with sharpened knives.

The film blonde , which comes out on Netflix today, has been dubbed a biopicabout Marilyn Monroe and her turbulent life. Director Andrew Dominik based theplot on the book of the same name about the famous actress. But that book is anovel, not a biography. Which parts of the story can we take for granted andwhich should we take with a grain of salt?

By Esther Villerius

“Marilyn Monroe is still alive – she’s reborn to tell her story; the story ofone made a star,” reads the novel’s blurb. ” blonde is a dazzling fictionalportrait of the complex emotional world of the idealized and beloved moviestar.”

The novel blonde , written by Joyce Carol Oates in 2000, is fiction.Inspired by a photo of a young Norma Jeane Baker, later known as MarilynMonroe, the author set to work.

Oates based her book on Monroe’s life, but added a lot of detail here andthere. This story subsequently became the basis for the film of the same name,which appeared on the market as a biopic: a biographical film.

There is no doubt about the credibility of well-known scenes, such as Monroe’sdress blowing up. But there are also moments in the film that are completelymade up. Director Dominik keeps the line between fact and fiction vague.

Affaires with the Kennedy brothers

Monroe once sang sultry to US President John F. Kennedy for his birthday. Thishappened in 1962, a few months before her death. That event sparked rumorsthat Monroe was having an affair with the then president. According tobiographer James Spada, the actress would also have had an affair with thepresident’s brother, Robert F. Kennedy.

The film hints at that long-running rumor about Monroe. In one scene, thesinger, played by Ana de Armas, is dragged through the hallways of the WhiteHouse to meet the US president. Monroe asks how she can help him, after whichKennedy forces her into various sexual acts.

The film also suggests that Monroe did not take his own life, but was murderedby Robert F. Kennedy to cover up these relationships. No proof has ever beenfound for this conspiracy theory.

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A love triangle and an abortion

Dominik also places Monroe in a love triangle with Charlie Chaplin Jr. andEdward G. Robinson Jr. In blonde we see so much gossip about the trio thatMonroe’s agent asks her to stop the affairs.

But Monroe has never experienced anything quite like it. In Chaplin’sautobiography, he only confirms that there was a short-lived affair betweenhim and Monroe.

In the film, the threesome’s relationships are ended by a pregnancy and theabortion that follows. Monroe becomes in blonde haunted by the thought ofher unborn child. She would have had that removed because she was afraid ofhereditary mental disorders. She also had two miscarriages.

There is no evidence for Monroe’s abortion. But she is said to have had threemiscarriages during her marriage to Arthur Miller.

‘It is what it is’

Monroe’s billowing dress is not a fabrication, but there is some debate aboutthe ramifications of this scene from The Seven Year Itch. In blonde JoeDiMaggio, who she was then married to, becomes so jealous that he beats herwith a belt. This moment suddenly comes in the film: the couple seems to haveit right in the period before.

“We’ve known each other too long, ladies and gentlemen.” This roguish remarkby Prime Minister Rutte towards the camera, because of a slyly looking at himSven Kockelmann at the end of an hour On 1 interview, was killing for thevalue of their conversation Monday night. Repeating rifle Rutte had kept upthe momentum, survived the cross-examination, distributed all aroundunderstanding and finally showed that he had never been afraid of the WNLjournalist. Viewers who watched consumer program earlier that evening _Radar_had watched, no doubt many questions still burned on their lips.

Because the editors of Radar (AvroTros) had been digging diligently again.And was together with the journalists of the investigative collective Followthe Money did the math: why does the Netherlands have the highest gas pricein Europe, what does the energy ceiling mean in practice and what can we doagainst all those cowboys on the free prairie of gas and electricity?

Sven Kockelmann and Mark Rutte

The conclusion you can draw, even after Radar -conversation with beloved MPsRenkse Leijten and Pieter Omtzigt: we seem to have passed the United States bynow, with our holy belief in the free market, the persistence of self-regulation despite all the derailments and the now bizarre fear of governmentintervention. Yes, but now there’s that energy ceiling, isn’t it? The measurewas dismissed by Leijten and Omtzigt as a rush job, which may cost us all morethan 15 billion, while it will not save many households and companies frombankruptcy. But it does fill the coffers of the energy companies.

How bad do we want it to be? Many of those energy companies immediatelyannounced a price increase on 1 October, which resulted in complaints from theNetherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). The watchdog responded,but with a pitiful bark: as a customer you have to object to the rate increaseyourself, for which the ACM will provide a sample letter.

I imagined that the whole of the Netherlands nodded in agreement when Leijtenstated that the government should regulate the energy market.

Especially when you hear the stories of people who have really ended up in thedeepest darkness because they have been tempted to sign a contract with acompany like the Hollandse Energie Maatschappij (HEM), which seems to be runby real criminals. If the stories in this excellent broadcast of Radar aboutHEM’s working methods, such a company must immediately be taken off themarket. Rather a few sad crooks than all those distraught consumers.

Also VPROs Backlight Monday made us realize how important it is to havetenacious journalists, in a world where little people are so easily bulldozedand the truth so blatantly denied. It was a portrait of young hero ChristiaanTriebert, a Dutch investigative journalist who The New York Times kicked.And there his team has already won two Pulitzer Prizes for reconstructionprojects: on the basis of public sources such as satellite images and privateinternet films, they provide rock-solid proof of what really happens in warzones. _Trust me, I ‘m a journalist _is called the documentary. And believeme, he offers hope for the future of truth.

_Maaike Bos and Renate van der Bas write columns about television five times a

In ‘Four Hands on One Belly’ we get to know Sharona (19). She is pregnant byher boyfriend Arjen (38). Despite the age difference of 19 years, the coupleis pregnant after just a few weeks. All nice and nice, but the two still smokeheavily during the pregnancy. And that is of course not possible, according tothe viewers of the program.

“There is only 1 question: WHY?”

Arjen lives in an anti-squat house close to the railway. Sharona lives withhim, but is not registered with him, because no children are allowed to livein anti-squat.

It’s time for the famous parents to come over to get to know the couple. Thistime it is Özcan Akyol and his wife Anna van der Breemer. “Who are they?” thepregnant couple responds. Özcan and Anna are curious about the love story ofSharona and Arjen. Although it was not love at first sight, the couple ispregnant very quickly.

The couple smokes a lot; Arjen makes the cigarettes himself with a clickdevice. Anna asks how many cigarettes Sharona smokes. “I still smoke ten-fifteen a day.” Sharona explains that she is bored and then quickly reachesfor the cigarettes. So what does she do all day? “A little cleaning andNetflix.”

Also read:

Twitter praises 20-year-old mother Meli from Four Hands On One Belly

Anna takes the cows by the horns and asks the couple to the hospital. Here,experts explain the effect of smoking on pregnancy. And that is something toswallow. “It was scary to hear,” Sharona responds.

Viewers are shocked that Sharona smokes at all during her pregnancy. ’19 yearsage difference. 2 months relationship. Living in an anti-squat, smoking like aheretic during her pregnancy. There is only 1 question: WHY?’, writes aconcerned viewer. Another says: ‘I can cry about this. These people are justhaving a baby, smoking and all…’

(Text continues below the tweets.)

After the appointment at the hospital, they both want to stop now. But thefirst week the attempt fails immediately. A few days later, Sharona tries tostop again. Anna pays a visit to ask how things are going. “It was quitetough. But we have nothing left at home.”

A few weeks later, Sharona is induced because the baby’s heart rate is toohigh. Sharona has a very hard time during the delivery, but when the babyarrives, she holds her little one with happiness. “Fortunately, it was bornsafe and sound.” They name their baby Dexx. “I’m proud of myself,” Sharonasays after giving birth.

Also read:

Sisters get strict approach in Four hands on one belly

After a few weeks Sharona makes a vlog. She hates being alone for so manydays. That is why Özcan and Anna arrange a job for her in the hospitalityindustry. She’s a little bit nervous about going back to work. “I was unsureabout making a cappuccino again, because it was quite a long time ago.” It istherefore not always easy. “It’s pretty hard to scoop ice cream,” Sharonasays. Nevertheless, she is allowed to work at the lunchroom. She also hassomething for herself.

Four Hands on one Belly see you every Tuesday evening at 8.25 pm at BNNVARAon NPO 3. You can watch the episode back here.

From one core motif, a ripple in the water, a majestic, serene Sunday morningtrip unfolded. The nine-part promises (2021) was a carefully constructedsoundscape of lofty lines, small bubbling sounds from harp to bells,complemented by the classical strings of the London Symphony Orchestra.Pharoah Sanders’ tenor sax was a thoughtful, earthly guideline for him.Sometimes simply bobbing along on sound waves, then freely improvising with atender or more abrasive tone.

The American saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, who died on Saturday at the age of81, signed for the jazz record of the year last year. promises was aninitiative of the British DJ and producer Floating Points and became a ratherunexpected success for the old spiritual jazz king with the white beard. Thealbum, at the top of many annual lists, was a growth brilliant – _promises_sounded stronger each time with a deeply magical and calming effect.

After theannouncementSaturday through his record label Luaka Bop, that Sanders passed away in thepresence of family and friends in Los Angeles, many jazz musicians paid theirlast respects. Floating Points (Sam Shepherd) also said „to have beenhappythat heknew Sanders. Their collaboration was an artistic comeback for thesaxophonist. There was new attention for his music. More gigs at other, notnecessarily jazz places. Online the value of his music on vinyl rose – likefirst pressings of old LPs like Pharoah (1977).

spiritual

Pharoah Sanders, born in 1940 as Farrell Sanders in Little Rock, Arkansas,made an unforgettable impression as an idiosyncratic tenor with a penetratingsound, exceptionally fast solos and a virtuoso technique. After the death oflike-minded people like Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry and Sun Ra, he was one ofthe last living greats of the free jazz sixties. His musical life revolvedaround spiritual jazz.

In the mid-1960s, he stood side by side with John Coltrane, the influentialinnovator in jazz history. Together they played away from the flow withdissonant, screaming solos. Where to go free jazz records like Ascension(1965) and meditations (1965) no one knew.

After Coltrane’s untimely death (liver cancer), Sanders continued on thatmusical free path with influences from Eastern religion and non-Westerninstruments, both as leader and sideman. Albums were released with Coltrane’swife, pianist and harpist Alice Coltrane. His records for the Impulse labelwere strong, mindful and meaningful. The song ‘The Creator Has a Master Plan’from the album Karma (1969) became his own optimistic magnum opus, with thesung mantra: “ the creator has a master plan, peace and happiness for everyman. He played it at every concert.

African rhythms

In the 1970s, Sanders (his first name Pharoah was given to him by Sun Ra)started investigating how he could mix African rhythms, various layers ofpercussion and vocals, with jazz. His interest in free jazz waned. From theeighties, even more mainstream came into his playing, with styles he hadpreviously ignored: modal jazz and hard bop. His playing became less robustand turbulent, but his tone remained sharp.

He continued to perform frequently. North Sea Jazz could count on him. Theheavy tenor saxophone around his neck twisted his body a little more and more.In recent years he has also performed at progressive Dutch music festivalssuch as Rockit, Dekmantel and Le Guess Who. He seemed more and more like askate-grandfather – caps on the side, baggy clothes, sneakers. Although thefirst impression was sometimes a bit slow: dozing on a chair. Only to shuffleforward, hesitating to produce some lazy first notes and then to find thattruly clear deep sound with lots of overtones. Cheers from everyone who wasthere, including himself.

Google introduced a lighter version of the Chromecast with Google TV inSeptember. The new HD version can stream with 1080p resolution and is cheaperwith its price of 39.99 euros. We discuss 6 novelties of the new Chromecast(HD), but there are also disadvantages.

1. More storage

A pain point of the Chromecast with Google TV (4K) has always been the limitedstorage you can use to install apps. That problem isn’t completely gone withthe Chromecast (HD), though you get an extra 300MB to use for apps. TheChromecast with Google TV (HD) comes with 4.7 GB compared to the 4.4 GB withthe 4K version.

300 GB does make a difference when you install apps in the Play Store, becausein practice you will be able to use three to four extra apps. Also payattention when setting up the Chromecast (HD), because for the first time thestreaming stick wants to install TikTok by default. If you don’t want that,you can prevent that during installation and save extra space.

2. Microphone Indicator

The Chromecast with Google TV (HD) works with Android TV 12, while the 4Kvariant has appeared with the older Android TV 10. That brings a number ofadvantages that Google describes. In Google TV, for example, you can see anindicator appear at the top right when an app uses the microphone in theremote. If that happens at an undesirable moment, you can revoke thepermission to use the microphone. This privacy feature is also known from theAndroid 12 update for phones.

3. Scale Text

Not everyone has an equally good view, and thanks to Android TV 12 it ispossible to adjust the size of letters. You can scale letters up to 130percent of the original, and there’s also the option of making lettersslightly smaller than standard – 85 percent – to fit more information on thescreen. So you don’t have to go looking for glasses if you want to see thetext in the interface of Google TV.

4. Adjust frame rate to the content

With the newer software of the Chromecast with Google TV (HD), it is possiblein the settings to adjust the frame rate in which an app is displayed on yourTV to the frame rate requested by the app. For example, you can choose to onlyinherit the app’s framerate if that works seamlessly, and this option isactive by default in Google TV.

Another option is to use an app’s framerate even when it doesn’t workseamlessly – basically forcing it – which can cause problems. You will thenbriefly see a black screen every time you play a video. With a final option,you choose never to take over the requested frame rate of an app.

5. Connect the WiFi with QR code

Connecting your Chromecast (HD) to a Wi-Fi network can now be done fasterwithout typing a password. That works with ‘Quick connect. If you choose thisoption in the connection menu, a QR code will appear on the screen of yourtelevision. If you then scan it with your phone, your Chromecast (HD) willimmediately connect to the network to which you are connected on yoursmartphone.

6. Turn off surround sound

The new Chromecast gives users more control over the sound of their TV, thespeakers or soundbar connected to it. You may not always want to blastsurround sound effects through your living room, for example when your partneror children are sleeping.

By default, Google TV uses all audio formats supported by your TV’s internalor external sound source. In addition, you now have the option in the settingsto always switch off surround sound, or to manually choose the allowed soundtechniques.

Less powerful hardware

We have now discussed six advantages with the Chromecast with Google TV (HD)compared to the 4K variant, but the stick also comes with one disadvantage.The HD version may perform slower when browsing the interface and apps. It hasa less fast chipset on board, a quad-core ‘Amlogic S805X2’ processor. Inaddition, it can also use less RAM: 1.5 GB of RAM instead of 2 GB.

We expect that the benefits of Android TV 12 will also reach the Chromecast(4K) via an update later, but when that will come is not known. Have youalready bought a Chromecast with Google TV (HD)? Let us know in the comments.

Buy Chromecast with Google TV

You can buy the Chromecast With Google TV 2K HD in a white color. It costs

Constance Wu reveals in her new book that she was sexually assaulted in her20s.

In an excerpt of Making a Scene published by Vanity Fair , the FreshOff the Boat actress, 40, opens up about the encounter with an “aspiringnovelist” named Ty on their second date 20 years ago.

In the book, out Oct. 4, Wu wrote that she had a wonderful first date with Ty,a New Yorker in his mid-30s, who appeared to be a gentleman and with whom sheshared sparks. On their second date, they had dinner and he invited her up tohis apartment after to give her something he had written for her. They kissedand it led to more, but when he went to get a condom — “an obvious signal forsex, which I did not want” — she stated more than once that she was “notready to have sex” with him.

“But he merely smiled, as if he knew better … than the words coming out of mymouth,” she wrote. “Hey…did it anyway.”

Wu wrote that she “didn’t fight back. I just … gave up” as it happened. Shetold herself that, “Cool girls didn’t freak out. Plus … he wasn’t violent. Hejust didn’t listen to me.” Plus, “if I fought him there was a risk that hecould become angry or violent. Could I really fight someone twice my size anda decade older than me? In his apartment?” Plus, “I was already soembarrassed… I didn’t want to make a scene.”

She recalled that she “wasn’t even upset” when she left. “I just felt … weird.Maybe because there had been no physical force… I didn’t feel attacked orassaulted or coerced and I certainly didn’t feel raped. _He just didn ‘tlisten to me_I thought.”

Wu buried the story deep below the surface long before she became a TV star,which gave her “a front-row seat to Hollywood’s latent sexism and misogyny.”Her fame from Fresh Off the Boat “gave me a public platform, I used it toadvocate for equality, pointing out systemic gender biases, and calling forpublic acknowledgment of and ending to rape culture… All the while thinkinghow fortunate it was that I had never been raped.”

Story continues

It changed one day on a plane from Singapore after filming 2018’s hit CrazyRich Asians.

“I’d just woken up from a nap when the realization hit me like a flood,” shewrote. “Ty raped me. He raped me, and I hadn’t done anything about it.”

She had a hard time referring to it as “rape” initially (“I couldn’t even saythe become “), _but was able to process it with her therapist. “She said it_used to be rape and that the lack of violence didn’t change that,” sherecalled.

Wu spent a lot of time wondering why it took 10 years to surface that she wassexually assaulted. She now knows, “I did not consent to sex. Maybe it wasn’tviolent, but it was rape. Period.”

The excerpt ended with her writing, “Some people might say that I should havefought back against Ty. But if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change howI reacted that night. Because when I think about the girl I was back then, Iunderstand what she was going through. She wasn’t yet ready to bear theinsults and derision that follow when women make scenes. I wouldn’t make herdo something before she was ready.”

Wu has been making headlines about the last few months for her candidrevelations. Just last week, she said she was sexually harassed during herearly years on Fresh Off the Boat which aired from 2015 to 2020. She playedJessica Huang, the mother in a Taiwanese-American family living in Orlando,Fla., on the hit sitcom set in the late-’90s.

She told the ___New York Times_ an __ unidentified “senior member of theproduction team … controlled her,” including “demanding that she run all herbusiness matters past him and telling her what to wear” during her first yearon the show. She also claimed the man had once put his hand on her thigh andgrazed her crotch. By Season 2, she felt empowered to say no to the man. Sheand her alleged harasser stopped speaking completely after she refused toattend a film festival with him.

” Fresh Off the Boat was my first-ever TV show,” Wu told the outlet. “I wasthrown into this world. I don’t have parents in the industry. And because Iwas 30, people thought I knew what I was doing. It made me paranoid andembarrassed.”

Wu said that harassment was behind her tweeting in 2019 that she was ready for_Fresh Off the Boat_ to end. Her tweets prompted backlash and she apologizesfor being “dramatic.” However, off-line, she felt like a disgrace to the AsianAmerican community for seeming ungrateful for her job, leading to herattempting suicide. She publicly shared about the attempted suicide in July ofthis year when she returned to social media for the first time in three years.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, help is available.RAINN ‘s National Sexual Assault Hotline is here for survivors 24/7 with free,anonymous help. 800.656.HOPE (4673) and online.rainn.org ** .**