Month: November 2022

On Friday, the Real Housewives of Atlanta alum, 41, and the Nigerian-bornbusinessman, 57, wed in a Nigerian traditional native law and custom ceremonyat the Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta in front of 250 guests. The couple will tiethe knot again in an American ceremony on Saturday.

“I am ridiculously excited,” Williams told PEOPLE ahead of the nuptials. “I amjust so ready. I’m not even nervous. I mean, I know I’m marrying the love ofmy life, and it’s just going to solidify our relationship and our family bond.I’m calm and excited.”

Guobadia, meanwhile, said he’s a “little nervous” — but not for the reason onemay think.

“When you say you’re a little nervous, and you’re about to walk down theaisle, people are thinking, ‘Uh-oh,'” he said. “But my nervousness comes fromthe family members and friends who I haven’t seen in a long time coming intoAtlanta!”

RELATED: Who Is Porsha Williams ‘ Fiancé? All About Simon Guobadia

Porsha Williams https://gallery.stanlophotography.com/Client-Downloads/Porsha-Simon-Wedding/

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The only thing Williams said she’s “anxious” about when it comes to theirwedding is the seven wardrobe changes she’ll be making over the course of thetwo days.

“It’s going to be a true fashion extravaganza,” she said with a laugh. “I justcouldn’t turn any dresses down! If a wedding dress came my way, and I lovedit, I got it.”

On the day of the Nigerian wedding, Williams had three outfit changes. For theceremony, she wore a red gown by designer Lakimmy customary for an Edo bride(Guobadia is from Benin City in the Edo State of Nigeria). She also wore anokuku, a headpiece with Benin coral beads.

Later, she changed into two gowns by the designer Tabik: one in royal blue andone in gold.

Guests were also asked to follow suit by wearing traditional or formalNigerian-inspired attire in the colors of the day: purple and teal.

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Typically, Nigerian Yoruba and Edo cultural attire for women includes iro andbuba, a vibrant skirt and top that is usually heavily beaded. Women oftenaccessorize with a yellow (an ornate head wrap) and by carrying a fan. Men,meanwhile, wear an agbada, an oversized kaftan designed from guinea or lace,and a hat made of asoke fabric.

Following tradition, the couple provided the cultural fabric to make theirfamily members’ clothing for the day. With the fabric, each family membercould choose how they wanted to design it.

“It was a huge undertaking,” Williams said. “I personally chose the fabricsthat they’re going to be wearing, including their head wrap, their Gele. Ichose all of the colors, everything. I should be a stylist after this!”

“It’s going to be interesting to see people’s take on the fabric,” she added.”It’s going to be a beautiful expression of fashion, love and family.”

Throughout the native law and custom ceremony, which was led by a spokespersonfrom each side of the couple’s family, traditional Benin singers and dancersperformed. Then, at the reception, Williams said she wanted her guests to feellike they were in Nigeria.

“I want them to feel like they have taken a flight and landed in Benin,” shesaid. “The whole room should be transformed with beautiful colors of brownsand rose golds and tans and creams. It should be really, really beautiful andgive you that authentic African feel.”

“The other thing I wanted was trees in the room,” she added. “I want it tofeel like an inside/outside space, but luxurious.”

Porsha Williams https://gallery.stanlophotography.com/Client-Downloads/Porsha-Simon-Wedding/

@stanlophotography

RELATED: Porsha Williams Shares Photo of Fiancé Simon Guobadia ‘s ‘VeryFirst Tattoo’ Featuring Her Name

For the feast, the couple catered traditional Benin foods like snails, egusi,meat pies and okra stew from the local restaurant Little Lagos. To representWilliams’ southern roots, they also had fried lobster, steak and cornbread. Asfor the cake, they had a traditional Benin cake.

Ever since they announced their engagement in May 2021 after one month ofdating, Williams said she “knew” she wanted “to honor” Guobadia’s culture attheir wedding

“I looked up different things about an Edo bride, about the Benin culture,about their ceremonies, just so that I wouldn’t be totally green,” she said.”I wanted to make sure that I was as respectful as possible because I didn’twant to not do anything that wasn’t within tradition, within their culture. SoI had to be very, very serious, and I was very adamant that each detail wasgoing to be authentic to their culture. I learned a lot.”

Guobadia said it all came naturally to Williams.

“For starters, I was so excited and, quite frankly, surprised that she wantedto do the traditional way, because it’s not something you hear every day,” hesaid. “To embrace my culture and want to be married in that fashion issomething that blows my mind. I think some of the folks we brought on to helpus go through the whole ceremony and that whole process were surprised thatshe knew so much already about the outfits, the clothing, the names and all ofthat. She’s immersed herself in the culture, I’d say in the last year.”

During a trip to his hometown of Benin in October, Guobadia said Williamsreally “embraced” Nigeria. “If you didn’t know any better, you could’ve swornshe’d been to Nigeria a few times,” he said.

When the couple returned home from the trip, Williams did an ancestry DNA testand was surprised to discover that she’s 44 percent Nigerian, specificallyfrom the western part of the country, where Guobadia’s mom is from.

“The journey has been phenomenal,” Guobadia said. “I couldn’t have asked for abetter future wife.”

RELATED VIDEO: RHOA ‘s Porsha Williams Wants to ‘Share the Real Me’ in FirstBook, The Pursuit of Porsha

For the duration of the celebration of their love on Friday, the couple askedfor guests to go unplugged.

“It’s important to me because I’ve had another big event in my life before,and all I remember seeing was flashing lights and pictures being taken everysingle minute,” said Williams, who was previously married. “I just really wantpeople to be in the moment. This guest list, everyone there was handpicked bythe both of us. These are people that we care about, people that we love,people who have supported us. We really want them to feel the energy and forus to celebrate our love together.”

Among those on the guest list is comedian Rickey Smiley, Love & Hip Hop:Atlanta’s Karlie Redd, Married to Medicines Quad Webb, _Basketball Wives_Jennifer Williams, and musician T.I. and wife Tiny Harris. Fellow _Housewives_stars including Kim Zolciak-Biermann, Monyetta Shaw, Kandi Burruss, DrewSidora and Cynthia Bailey were also invited.

Williams added that Guobadia has people coming in for the wedding from”London, Nigeria, South America … everywhere!”

Since their wedding is a two-day affair, Williams said that not spending thenight together two nights in a row is going to be tricky.

“On Thursday night, I’ll be going to the Four Seasons to the penthouse suiteto prepare for the next day since it’s a morning wedding,” she said. “But onFriday night, I’m going to be back at our home because I’m going to be gettingready here for the American wedding that day. He’s like, ‘Wait a minute,you’re going to tell me I can ‘t be in the bed?’ I’m going to have to try tomake him sleep on the sofa.”

On Saturday evening, the couple will begin their American wedding ceremony ata church in Atlanta with 350 guests. Afterwards, they’ll celebrate with a balland after party.

As to what she’s most excited for about married life, Williams said it’sgetting to officially call Guobadia her “husband.”

“It’s just going to be like, ‘My husband, my husband, my husband,'” she saidwith a laugh. “I’m going to irritate everyone! It’s our last marriage, okay?We belong together. That is it. It’s a blessing to be able to find yourperson. It doesn’t happen often.”

RELATED: Porsha Williams ‘ Family Questions Simon Guobadia Engagement inFirst Trailer for Her New Bravo Show

For Guobadia, he said he and Williams are already “best friends.”

“I literally don’t want to leave this house most days after work, because I’dmuch rather climb into bed and watch TV with her,” he said. “We enjoytraveling a great deal. We love finding new spots around the world and justgoing together. We’re just both at a very peaceful place in our lives.”

“In the year and a half I’ve been with this woman, I’ve not had one issue withher,” he said. “It’s just been a great relationship. As a matter of fact, thewhole idea of ​​getting married is really not something that scares me becausewe’ve lived together, and our families are intertwined. So this is just alegal, formal way of saying we are married. We could have celebrated from dayone.”

The couple is also excited to bring their families even closer together.(Williams shares daughter Pilar Jhena, 3, with ex Dennis McKinley, whileGuobadia has five kids — Quentin, Nicole, Christian, Benjamin and Ximena —from previous marriages.)

“I’ll be his kid’s stepmom, he’ll be Pilar’s stepdad,” Williams said. “We’rereally a unit, and we move together. The way we move throughout life will beas husband and wife as one. It really is a big deal to the both of us.”

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Asked whether they would like to expand their family with more kids, Williamssaid she and Guobadia are “absolutely” open to it.

“I’ve always wanted to have four kids, so it’s a blessing that he has threeyounger ones that are at home a lot of the time, and then I have my Pilar,”she said. “But as far as me being able to experience having a child with him,I definitely want to explore that. I’m not sure how many that will include,but I definitely know it wouldn’t be more than two.”

Queen Elizabeth II’s final days are coming into focus with a new book.

In an excerpt published by Daily Mail from royal writer Gyles Brandreth’supcoming book Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait , he writes that the latemonarch made peace with her death as he documented Reverend Dr. IainGreenshields’ visit to Balmoral the weekend before she died.

“The truth is that Her Majesty always knew that her remaining time waslimited. She accepted this with all the grace you’d expect,” Brandreth writes.

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“‘Her faith was everything to her. She told me she had no regrets,’ said Dr.Greenshields, referring to the last weekend he spent with her at Balmoral.”

Brandreth also writes of rumors that Her Majesty had a rare form of myeloma, abone marrow cancer, “which would explain her tiredness and weight loss andthose ‘mobility issues’ we were often told about during the last year or so ofher life. “

Queen Elizabeth II waits in the Drawing Room before receiving newly electedleader of the Conservative party Liz Truss at Balmoral Castle for an audiencewhere she will be invited to become Prime Minister and form a new governmenton September 6, 2022 in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Queen broke with the traditionof meeting the new prime minister and Buckingham Palace, after needing toremain at Balmoral Castle due to mobility issues

_Jane Barlow – WPA Pool/Getty _ Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 6, 2022 at BalmoralCastle

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He explains that it’s not surprising her cause of death was ruled “old age,”as that’s the commonly listed cause “when a patient is over 80 and theirdoctor has cared for them over time and seen their gradual decline.”

RELATED: King Charles Views Queen Elizabeth ‘s Famous 21st BirthdaySpeech During South Africa State Visit

Dr. Douglas James Allan Glass, who worked with the Queen for more than 30years and was with her at the time of her death, said her death “was expectedand we were quite aware of what was going to happen.”

According to Brandreth’s book, Queen Elizabeth began exhibiting “sudden’energy low'” and “felt exhausted” in autumn 2021, as doctors ordered her to”‘rest a bit, not to push herself so much, to take it easy.'” She subsequentlycanceled several appearances.

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The State Gun Carriage carries the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in theRoyal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign’s orb andsceptre, in the Ceremonial Procession down The Mall following her StateFuneral at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022 in London , England.Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne ofthe United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of herFather, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotlandon September 8, 2022, and was succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III.

_Zac Goodwin – WPA Pool/Getty _

“Until then, her energy had been little short of astonishing,” Brandrethwrites. “Over her final decade, she’d not only continued her work as monarchbut actively engaged with modern life.

Queen Elizabeth died at age 96 in September at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.Buckingham Palace previously announced that the Queen was “under medicalsupervision” and doctors were “concerned” about her health, as members of theroyal family rushed to her side at Balmoral.

RELATED VIDEO: Meghan Markle Calls Queen Elizabeth the ‘Most ShiningExample’ of Female Leadership in New ‘Variety’ Interview

Her Majesty’s death followed the passing of her husband of 73 years, PrincePhilip, who died at age 99 in June 2021. She was succeeded immediately by hereldest son, King Charles III, 74, who is now the monarch.

Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait is available Dec. 8.

Kevin Mazur/Getty for Netflix Dwayne Johnson with his mom Ata in November2021

Dwayne Johnson isn’t afraid to get sentimental on Thanksgiving.

The Jumanji star shared snippets of his Thanksgiving meal on Instagram as hespent the holiday with wife Lauren Hashian, their two daughters, Tiana, 4, andJasmine, 6, his mother Ata Johnson and other family and friends.

Johnson started out his trio of posts by sharing a video of the Thanksgivingspread on the dining table over Iz’s rendition of “Somewhere Over theRainbow,” and thanking the chefs that prepared the meal.

“We went around the table praising [family chef @chefputtie] and our staff -and when we got to my mom (as always) it’s very hard for her to talk about theblessings of Thanksgiving without crying,” he said. “Hope all of you out thereand your families had a blessed one as well 🦃❤️”

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Johnson focused a majority of his Thanksgiving posts on his mother, and evenshared with his 349 million followers on Instagram why he and his mother oftenget choked up about the holiday.

“Back in my early teens, we had a few rough Thanksgivings where we would prayin hopes that another family would invite us over to eat because we didn’thave enough money for a Thanksgiving spread,” Johnson wrote.

“Things are much different these days 🙏🏾, but my mom and I will never forgetthose times,” he added. “Which is why it’s impossible for her to speak aboutour blessings without getting very emotional.”

But Johnson did try to lighten the mood with some Thanksgiving dad jokes,including one “knock knock” joke that brought on a bunch of “ew’s” andlaughter around the table, especially from his two daughters.

“Hey Thanksgiving dinner at the Johnson’s is a vibe my friends 😂,” hecaptioned the post. “We count our blessings and man we have fun.”

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Dwayne and Tiana Johnson

Dwayne JohnsonInstagram

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Last month, Johnson spoke to PEOPLE about being a dad, revealing that his”superpower” is that he continues to fall for the pranks his daughters pull onhim at home.

Johnson has frequently shared glimpses on social media of the hilarious tricksconcocted by his younger daughters.

“My superpower as a dad is the ability to not figure out why I keep fallingfor the ‘Daddy close your eyes’ trick and I get peanut butter in the face, myface drawn on, kicked in the nuts,” he joked. “Everything happens, that’s mysuper power.”

RELATED : Watch Dwayne Johnson Be Passed a Fan ‘s Baby Through a CrowdDuring ‘Black Adam’ Event

the rock

Dwayne johnson/ instagram

When recently asked about a presidential run, which he toyed with in pastinterviews through the years, the actor explained that now, it’s “off thetable.”

“I will say this, because it requires the B-side to this,” Johnson said. “Ilove our country and everyone in it. I also love being a daddy.”

“Especially during this time, this critical time in my daughters’ lives.Because I know what it was like to be on the road and be so busy that I wasabsent for a lot of years for my first daughter’s growing up, [at] thiscritical age at this critical time in her life. And that’s what the presidencywill do. So my No. 1 priority is my daughters. Sure, CEO sounds great, but theNo. 1 thing I want to be is daddy. That’s it.”

Earlier this week, Brady, 45, shared a photo on Instagram featuring his oldestchild, son John “Jack” Edward, 15, preparing to throw a football.

The blurry background shows the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback standing offto the side behind him watching, with others on the field during what lookslike a practice.

“My Inspiration ❤️,” the father of three, who has previously talked about hisson’s love of football, captioned the image.

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In the comments section, Bündchen, 42, left a simple but sweet message,sharing a single red heart emoji.

Together, Brady and Bündchen share daughter Vivian Lake, 9, and son BenjaminRein, 12, while the NFL star shares Jack with ex Bridget Moynahan.

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RELATED: Watch Tom Brady ‘s Daughter Vivian Crash His BRADY Brand Video:’What the Heck Is Gummy Knit?’

Brady also shared another set of photos on his Instagram Story earlier thisweek of son Jack, including a photo of him in a huddle with his teammates,proudly calling him, “Just one of the boys.”

In another snap, he told Jack to “Fire that pigskin!!!” as the teen preparedto throw a football, and in one other image he lovingly called Jack “my[heart].”

tom brady Instagram Storyhttps://www.instagram.com/stories/tombrady/2978147070620018276/

tom brady/Instagram

The NFL veteran previously reflected on Thanksgiving ahead of his first timecelebrating the holiday as a single father of three during his SiriusXMpodcast, Let ‘s go!

“I think myself as a parent and being grateful during Thanksgiving, it’salways time for family,” he said on the Nov. 21 episodes. “When you thinkabout this holiday and the commitment that parents make and that my parentsmade to me and my career is unbelievable.”

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Acknowledging his whole family’s role in his 23-season career, Brady said hewas “looking forward to finishing strong here after Thanksgiving.”

“And obviously with a lot of gratitude for the people that have made such ahuge impact in my life and supported me throughout this amazing career,” hecontinued. “I just want to be that for my kids. You know, I just wanna be thebest dad I could be.”

RELATED VIDEO: Tom Brady Admits Gisele Bundchen Marriage Struggles Spilledinto Football in First Interview Since Divorce

A source close to the NFL star told PEOPLE earlier this month that Brady andBündchen’s two kids will have “full access to both [parents]whenever theywant” as they adjust to their new family dynamic after the couple’s decisionto divorce after 13 years of marriage.

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“They can see whichever parent they want. They’ve got a schedule, but neitherof them would prevent their kids from seeing the other parent,” added thesource. “That’s not who either of them are.”

“The kids adore them both, and they’ll have full access to both, whenever theywant,” the source continued. “They’re not vindictive like that.”

“These kids won’t be used as pawns. They’re going to be loved and cherished byboth parents,” concluded the insider.

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Laughter appears to be the best medicine for Jay Leno.

Two weeks after suffering serious burns in a fuel fire, the 72-year-oldcomedian returned to the stage on Sunday for a performance at The Comedy andMagic Club in Hermosa Beach, California.

“I never thought of myself as a roastcomic,” Leno jokedto reporters including NBC News as he arrived at the venue. “We have two showstonight — regular and extra crispy.”

He added, “I feel good, thanks you guys.”

A frequent performer at the comedy spot, Leno’s show on Sunday was sold-out, aclub spokesperson told CNN. The former TonightShow host performed for morethan an hour.

“He looked great and he had a lot of stamina,” one clubgoer told NBC Newsafterwards, another explaining that Leno was “full of energy” during hisstandup set and “told joke after joke after joke.”

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Jay Leno with the GBC Staff

Grossman Burn Center

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Despite the laughs, Leno’s condition was no joking manner when he was firstadmitted to the Grossman Burn Center on Nov. 12 after suffering second- andthird-degree burns on his face, chest and hands in a garage gasoline fire.

The car aficionado and star of Jay Leno ‘s Garage was working on a steamengine underneath a car in his garage around 12:30 pm when the blaze brokeout. The Burbank Fire Department responded to the incident, transporting himto the renowned center where he underwent a series of surgical excision andgrafting procedures for his burns.

“Some of the burns to the face are a little deeper and a little moreconcerning,” Dr. Peter Grossman, medical director at the Grossman Burn Center,said shortly after the accident, noting that Leno lucky hadn’t experienced anynotable nerve damage. “I do anticipate him making a full recovery. Whetherthey’ll be remnants of this injury, it’s still too early to tell. I’d say thathis injuries are serious, his condition is good.”

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Jay Leno poses for portrait at BritWeek’s Luxury Car Rally Co-Hosted By ThePetersen Automotive Museum at Petersen Automotive Museum on November 14, 2021in Los Angeles, California.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Jay Leno

Leno was similarly optimistic, speaking two days after the incident in astatement shared with PEOPLE. “I got some serious burns from a gasoline fire,”he said. “I am okay. Just need a week or two to get back on my feet.”

He did just that, leaving the facility after a 10-day stint on Nov. 21 andhappily smiling with the staff on his way out. He returned the next day todrop off thank-you gifts.

“Jay would like to let everyone know how thankful he is for the care hereceived, and is very appreciative of all of the well wishes,” doctors said ina statement at the time. “He is looking forward to spending Thanksgiving withhis family and friends and wishes everyone a wonderful holiday.”

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Follow-up treatments will continue for Leno at the Grossman Outpatient BurnClinic, they added.

In the meantime, Leno has further standup sets scheduled for the rest of theyear, including multiple shows at the The Comedy and Magic Club on Dec. 4, 11,and 18. Tickets are on sale now.

The bookmakers have a new favorite for the role of James Bond: Dan Stevens.Among audience favorites that are too old or too young, he immediately standsout as a real contender.

Daniel Craig will soon be seen in his first ‘post-Bond’ film. From December 23_Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery_ to stream on Netflix. With a recent vodkacommercial, the actor already made it clear that he has left the 007 imagebehind.

The new (old) James Bond

The Bond train, however, just rumbles on. Amazon has invested billions in thestudio behind the franchise for a reason. The big question isn’t if, but whenthe next movie in the long-running series will come out. In any case, producerBarbara Broccoli has already made it clear that we should not expect arepetition of moves: “Really, Bond is being reinvented. And that takes time.”

But who will play the next James Bond? Bookmakers have been dealing with thislife question for years now. Fortunately, we have already received some morehints from the official Bond camp. Producer Michael G. Wilson recentlyrevealed that the new Bond will not be played by “a young actor”. So no TomHolland, as some hoped.

“We’ve tried to look at younger people in the past,” Wilson said. “But when wevisualize that, we find out that it doesn’t work. Don’t forget that James Bondis already a veteran.” Fair enough.

Betting offices nominate Dan Stevens

With all those hints and news, the betting offices are not sitting stilleither. The ranking of favorites for the mega reel is shifting considerably.Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy and Idris Elba have been in the top echelons foryears, but in recent weeks a new face has stormed the top five.

Then we’re talking about Dan Stevens. This is evident from an analysis bywebsite VegasInsiders, where data from various bookies is collected. The_Downton Abbey_ -actor is growing in popularity at the betting offices.

DanStevens in Legion (Image: Disney)

Everything fits

You may also know Stevens from Legion, Beauty and the Beast or theundervalued The Guest. The best man is British, which makes a difference,and with his forty years he seems in the sweet spot especially after thecomments of 007 producer Michael G. Wilson.

Where it is actually just too late for actors like Idris Elba, Stevens can runaround as a secret agent for many years to come. Not entirely unimportant fora long-running franchise. According to Ladbrokes, that the actor odds of8/1, “it was his role in the thriller The Guest from 2014 that first sparkedthe discussions”.

In it, Stevens played an American soldier who visits a family, and claims tobe the boyfriend of their son who died in Afghanistan. Bond or not: thethriller is an underrated recommendation.

Dan Stevens in The Guest (Image:Picturehouse)

The new top favorites

Anyway, back to James Bond. With Stevens’ odds listed, he is tied with_Eternals_ actor Richard Madden. They have to tolerate four contenders: HenryCavill and Regé-Jean Page (3/1), James Norton (9/2) and Tom Hardy (6/1). Not abad line to be in.

Well, in the end they are betting offices, not science. Barbara Broccoli andco. will not care about such rankings, and follow their own vision for thefuture of James Bond. Although you cannot ignore the fact that Stevens doesmeet a lot of criteria. From his looks and experience to his age. He ticksall the boxes. To be continued!

The van Nieuwkerk affair shows that public broadcasting has drifted away fromits proper task: to monitor the quality of the public debate and to contributeto a healthy society.

Peter ClockNovember 27, 202219:23

The public broadcaster is going to subject itself to an in-depth self-examination. This will not be limited to the abuses in TV programs DWDD butalso look for the ‘systemic causes’ in the broadcasting system, which underliethe misconduct of the presenter and editors-in-chief.

That is a wise decision, because Matthijs van Nieuwkerk’s behavior is not anisolated incident, but a symptom of a public broadcaster gone mad that wantedto keep a viewer rating gun coûte que coûte and had no eye for the damage hecaused to others and himself.

It is also a symptom of labor relations that imply a great imbalance of power.The editors of DWDD like the editors of many other programs, had temporarycontracts. They could be fired at any time. Resigning themselves was difficultbecause they had to pay a fine. So they often had no choice but to blindlyobey.

The fact that a broadcaster that emerged from the labor movement, BNNVara,felt compelled to do so and failed to properly protect employees who fell preyto a burnout, shows how far the public broadcaster has drifted from itsoriginal values.

The transformation that public service broadcasting has undergone over thepast decade has further exacerbated the situation. The power of the individualbroadcasters was limited, that of the umbrella organization NPO grew. Programmakers were increasingly at the mercy of network managers, who determined onbehalf of the NPO who was allowed to show their skills at what time. Sincethen, a program can be taken off the tube from one moment to the next.

Due to the simultaneous emphasis on ratings, public broadcasting fell prey tothe process already described in 1985 by Neil Postman in Amusing ourselves todeath. When the amount of attention becomes the benchmark in determiningsuccess and allocating airtime, everything ends up as entertainment. Thismechanism has hit hard especially with the talk shows. Instead of striving toinform the viewer as best as possible, the viewer was mainly to beentertained. Therefore, rather a Sywert van Lienden or a Prem Radhakishun thansomeone with knowledge of business who is less good at his words and istherefore less entertaining.

The personification of this development is Frans Klein, video director of theNPO, and Matthijs van Nieuwkerk’s most important patron until the last moment.He believes in a broad public service broadcaster, which must first of allattract many viewers and only secondly think about its public task, to monitorthe quality of the social debate and to contribute to a healthy society.

Klein has gained more and more power in recent years. His latest achievementis to shut down the NPO Fund, which finances high-quality drama productionsand documentaries. From now on, those proposals must first pass Klein and hisfaithful.

The centralization of power has been good for ratings. Under the leadership ofKlein cs, the NPO has provisionally defeated the commercial broadcasters. Theprice paid for this is a slavish broadcasting culture, in which everyone hasto dance to the tune of the broadcasting bosses, and a more superficial andless surprising program offering, in which the same TV personalities areconstantly put forward. The most recent example: the innovative book programme_Moped at Sea_ must make way for Eus ‘ Book Club.

To beat the commercial broadcasters, the public broadcaster has become moreand more like a commercial broadcaster. It is high time to take the publictask more seriously again, in its program offerings, but especially in itscorporate culture.

Roberto Martínez keeps squeezing, but the lemon has been squeezed. AgainstMorocco, an exhausted Belgian team reached a new low: 0-2. There is a dangerof explosion in the hopelessly divided dressing room, the national coach seemsto have lost his grip. If there is not at least a draw against vice-worldchampions Croatia on Thursday, the World Cup will be over for Belgium.

Jan HauspieSunday, November 27, 202221:35

“No one has glossed over things,” wrote Ruben VanGucht from Qatar on hissocial media following the incident in which Kevin De Bruyne and TobyAlderweireld during Belgium-Canada were just not nose to nose. And thatplayers and national coach had been honest in their analysis after the luckyBelgian victory. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. TheSporza interviewer, with the experience of his third World Cup, one more thanexperience adept Roberto Martinez illustrated that you don’t have to stayin Doha these days to know what’s going on with the Red Devils.

The reason for his blind positivism was De Bruyne’s press conference. In it,the Belgian turntable talked about the way in which he had expressed hisfrustration too flashy against the Canadians. That was not right, he thoughtafter a night’s sleep (and who knows, a silent exhortation). Endearing,indeed. But to deduce that all was over is either laziness or credulity orboth. Because it was not over. Other messages, which apparently did not reachVan Gucht, mentioned ‘stress’, ‘ambras’ and even ‘war’ in a Belgian dressingroom that has been hopelessly divided for longer than today.

Picture BELGA

Against Morocco, the Red Devils kept up the appearance of improvement for halfan hour. But then the Moroccans started winning the duels, and they continuedthat line throughout the second half. Just before half-time, the Belgiansalready escaped a deficit when a free kick from Chelsea attacker HakimZiyech just disappeared into goal at the first post. Fortunately forMartínez and his friends, the VAR had seen a Moroccan offside. Exactly thesame thing happened fifteen minutes before the end, just like with thedisallowed goal Thibaut Courtois not looking good. The best goalkeeper inthe world, knocked at the near post not once but twice? With an organizationin front of him that didn’t seem like anything, but which he didn’t correct?

Courtois, who had saved the furniture against Canada, lay there and watched:0-1. For example, not one of our two remaining world top players gave homeagainst Morocco. Because despite his public penance, De Bruyne also played adragon of a game. His body language showed disinterest. Thomas Meunier hehappily drowned on his right side, and with a rare counter – it was still 0-0- he would rather crush himself than serve a teammate. At no point did DeBruyne take the team by the hand. While he was already frustrated in the lostEuropean Championship quarter-final against Italy, and he added a shovel oftheater on top of that against Canada, De Bruyne left things ostentatiouslyagainst Morocco.

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After the game, Van Gucht thought he could detect disappointment and evenleadership Jan Vertonghen , the first man in front of his microphone.Restrained fury would have been more correct, and the subtle round of blackshots – according to Vertonghen, the attackers had failed – completely escapedthe questioner. Other than Eden Hazard or Romelu Lukaku De Bruyne hasnever been popular in the Belgian dressing room. At the same time, thatdressing room has always realized that it could not do without its bestplayer. De Bruyne is not the latter at this World Cup. And no national coachin the area who still gets the noses in the same direction.

THE MOMENT

The switch after 60 minutes of not alone usual suspect Eden Hazard, as wellAmadou Onana. By dropping the 21-year-old midfielder into the startingline-up, Roberto Martínez had shown progressive insight and provided the teamwith running ability and fighting spirit. After less than half an hour, Onanafaced a yellow card and it was established that he was suspended for the thirdgroup match against Croatia on Thursday. As a precaution, therefore, he shouldnot be taken to the side. Martinez did it anyway. Onana is the discovery ofthis World Cup and symbolizes the new Belgium. Veteran Dries Mertens isn’tthat, and yet he was the first to fill in – man in shape Leandro Trossardhad to wait another 15 minutes.

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Martínez’ ways are inscrutable, but if he still believes that you can grow ina tournament, it does not hurt that he takes a closer look at the famous 1986World Cup. The Red Devils then reached the semi-finals against DiegoMaradona’s Argentina , after memorable duels against the Soviet Union andSpain.

In the group stage, however, it had been chopping over the ditch. Just likenow in Qatar, it started with a defeat and a win, and the third game had to beat least a draw to be allowed to go to the eighth finals. For that third match- against Paraguay – the national coach went Guy Thys with the coarsebrush through the team. Jammer Rene Vandereycken was put on a plane home,four other players also flew, but then to the bank. Enter half a new team,including the youngsters Patrick Vervoort and Georges Grun. The gameended 2-2 and the rest is history.

Let us pray for that one well-hidden piece of Guy Thys in Roberto Martínez.

THE QUOTE

“There are a lot of things going through my head right now that I shouldn’tsay. Not outside rooms, anyway.’ – Jan Vertonghen

And las gradas de Qatar, el público (cuando lo hay) es mimoso como un gatito.Y los futbolistas se desempeñan como caballeros. Bracear cuesta una tarjeta,las manos deben pegarse al cuerpo, el partido se detiene cuando alguien recibeun balonazo en la cabeza; no me cuesta imaginar que en un futuro próximo lasmalas miradas se incluyan en el reglamento como agresión moral.

Cuando yo tenía su edad, la del pequeño, ocurrió el Mundial 82, el primero querecuerdo. Oh, aquello me fascino. No exagero si afirmo que esos días descubríel mundo. Aprendí que era un lugar complejo y plural, habitado por personas dediferentes culturas y colores, no solo de camiseta, y maneras de entender lavida y el balón. Aprendí todo aquello como se aprenden las cosas importantes:viviéndolas. Aquel verano asistí en San Mamés a un Inglaterra-Francia en elque apoyaba a los galos, a pesar de vestir en la calle la réplica de lacamiseta Admiral de los británicos con el logotipo de la Caja de Ahorros deBilbao. Aquel verano me regalaron una enciclopedia de fútbol que leí cientosde veces hasta memorizar casi todos los nombres que en ella aparecían y recitédespués durante las retransmisiones de la televisión nombres exóticos y belloscomo poemas: Littbarski, Gentile, Smolarek, Keegan, Edevaldo. Aquel veranocelebré montones de goles, soñé muchos más y lloré, lloré varias veces, laúltima cuando Hrubesch marcó el penalti que clasificaba para la final aAlemania, a los malos, a los de Schumacher. Vaya si llore esa noche.

Todo aquello me llegó tamizado por las palabras de mi padre, a quien cada díadel campeonato abrasaba a preguntas y cuya palabra entendía como definitiva.Por él comenzó mi admiración por Sócrates, Tigana y Osvaldo Ardiles, que me haacompañado toda la vida.

Cuando casi sin previo aviso, en mitad de la rutina invernal, llegó esteMundial 2022, me asaltó la duda de si verlo en casa, junto a mis hijos, meconvertía en cómplice de esta desafortunada FIFA nuestra y sus tejemanejes conel poder económico. Tengo algunos buenos amigos, muy futboleros, que estánpracticando un férreo boicot televisivo. Pero yo no podía hacer eso a mispequeños. Cuatro años para un adulto es un tiempo considerable, pero para unniño es media vida. No podía dejarlos sin futbol. En lugar de ello, estoyintentando usar el acontecimiento para hablarles del mundo en que vivimos, dela riqueza cultural y las injusticias, de la maravillosa diversidad y dequienes atentan contra ella porque anhelan un mundo homogéneo, feo, gris y sinarcoíris.

Con el mayor creo que lo he conseguido, que el fútbol sirva para su procesoeducativo. La última prueba de ello: el otro día pudo elegir el número quequisiera para la camiseta del equipo con el que juega y optó por el 18 deÓscar de Marcos y Carlos Gurpegui. Con el pequeño estoy en camino. Estos díasme come a preguntas, como hace 40 años hice yo con mi padre. ¿Por qué prefieroque ganen los equipos más pequeños, esos que a casi nadie dicen nada? ¿Por quéle tengo tanta tirria a Mbappé si es buenísimo? ¿Por qué animo a Ghana?Nuestras conversaciones son de fútbol, ​​pero a través de ellas intentoexplicarle el modo en que entiendo la manera en que debemos estar en estemundo. Intento, and definitiva, educarle. Creo, de verdad, que en este procesoel fútbol es un gran aliado y el Mundial, también este Mundial, unaoportunidad.