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‘Still Believe by Herman Brood tells me that unconditional love will stillcome’

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Which song do you want to play at your own farewell anyway?

Still Believe by Herman Brood & His Wild Romance.

Why this one?

“I’ve been a big fan of Herman Brood since my childhood. He experienced hisglory days in the late 1970s, but I followed him before that time. He matchedexactly the adolescent blues that I was going through at the time. At the timeI was on a boys’ boarding school in Ter Apel and Herman often played inGroningen. Close by, but I was not allowed to go there.”

“I also recognized myself in Herman. I also kept myself going in life by doingtricks. This song is about a lost love that he hopes to find again, but for meit touches my deepest heartache. I’m like adopted a baby and it gave me anattachment problem I miss that unconditional love of a mother and this songmakes me feel like it will come someday I even had Henk Schiffmacher get atattoo with the lyrics of Still Believe. I continue to believe that I willstill have that love.”

And what does it say about your life?

“That craving for love was a slumbering feeling that I often ran into. I am anemotional person and have had many relationships in my life, which oftencrashed. Then that song always came back. There have been times when I wasvery melancholy and then this song lifted me over it again. Just like withblues music, sinking into melancholy can sometimes also give a nice newstart.”

“At 57 I wrote my biography, and I started a search for my biological father.My parents only had contact once. He was a journalist, and that world hasalways attracted me. It was nice to discover that love that I had beforewriting is apparently in my DNA. While writing my life story, the slumberingsadness logically reappeared. I had had contact with my biological motherbefore and just before her death we became a closer bond. I like to think thatmy faith in love has helped, because a touch of my dream and the feeling of_Still Believe_ has become reality.”

Amy Ray and Emily Sailers, who make up the lesbian folk-rock duo the IndigoGirls, are opening up about addiction, recovery and how their music continuesto be a lighthouse for the LGBTQ community.

The musicians recently sat down with Glennon Doyle for her podcast We Can DoHard Things during which Saliers, 59, opened up about her years-longaddiction to alcohol and how her drunken antics nearly caused Ray, 58, to quitthe band.

“I was destined to be an alcoholic,” Saliers said, acknowledging thatalcoholism runs in her family. “I didn’t know it. When we played bars andstuff and we did shots from the stage — this is when were babies — anddrinking was such a social part of what we did for work, and then I had a verysocial life I thought I was an extrovert, but I was really just an alcoholic.”

Saliers goes on to explain that, due to the overconsumption of alcohol, herbehavior eventually turned unruly. Soon, it started to become a liability forthe band.

“Amy can attest to how terrible it was when I was drinking,” she shared. “Allthe excuses I made, my irresponsibility, not showing up [to work]. But I wasterrified. I think all alcoholics are terrified to admit that they’realcoholics.”

Added Saliers: “Everybody knew I was just f****d up and dying, and Amy wasgoing to quit the band. Everything was falling apart for me and I tried tohide it so much — and you just can’t. “

After Ray made multiple attempts to intervene, Saliers’ family and friendseventually staged an intervention that led her to spend three months in rehab.Looking back, she says the experience saved her life.

“It’s the hardest f** thing I’ve ever done,” she says of getting sober.”It’s so hard sometimes, you just wanna get out, you know, quickly, and youcan’t anymore. You have to sit through a lot of discomfort and the other thingI’m learning now is I lost a whole chunk of my development — intellectualdevelopment, my evolution as a human being. I just deprived myself of that inthat time that I was drinking so hard.”

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“So, now I feel a lot of catching up, and feel a lot of unworthiness becauseI’m behind,” she explained. “But to be sober, to wake up feeling good, to knowthat you’re not self-destructing, to know that you can be, like, now I’maccountable to Amy, responsible to do us. To all the people and to myfamily. I never would have had my wife [Tristin Chipman]; she would have leftme, she was going to. Or my child. All the most beautiful things in life havecome from sobriety.”

Ray and Saliers, whose latest album Look Long was released in April,couldn’t help but acknowledge their contributions to advancing LGBTQ rightsand visibility in music as well.

Despite their iconic status in the community, both admit that they still dealwith internalized homophobia.

Ray and Saliers giving an intimate performance at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur,Georgia in 2018. (Photo: R. Diamond/Getty Images)

“I came up with feeling, at some point, the bubble was bursting, I was feelingself-hatred about being so masculine,” Ray explained of coming to terms withher sexuality when she was younger.

“It’s internalized homophobia,” she added. “It means you’re scared of what youreally are and sometimes you don’t want to face it. I think when you’re young,you don’t really know what it means.”

For lesbians of her generation, who she says felt pressured by societal normsto remain closeted, Ray says losing that emotional baggage takes work — which,she says, is in stark contrast with today’s queer generation that oftencelebrates identities rather than suppressing them.

“For us, it’s kinda like, we were just not able to celebrate [being queer] forso long that we got conditioned to that,” she said. “We were taught that youdon’t celebrate it.”

“We didn’t know what the word gay meant, really, when we were kids,” shecontinued. “Now when you come out, you understand that there’s sexuality andthere’s gender, and that’s different … The thing that helped me the most whenI got older was, all of a sudden, having all this language to talk about whereI was at.”

Saliers added that the queer community was key to not only her sobriety butalso her coming-out journey.

“People who are coming out [today] don’t have to deal so much with the self-hatred and self-homophobia that I still deal with,” Saliers says. “Some of theyoung people I know who come out, they’re overjoyed and happy, and they didn’t have to fight this internal battle.”

“The influence, the power of these systemic structures that affect us: thechurch, social norms, binary thinking, fear about fluidity in so many ways,you take a step back and look at the power of those forces on us. That’s whywe need community,” she says. “Together we can navigate that, tackle that, andaffirm our validity as human beings, our dignity. That’s why we needcommunity.”

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LaLa Kent will never forget the pain of losing her father.

In April 2019, the Vanderpump Rules star said goodbye to her dad and sharedon Instagram that her world had “crumbled.” As a way to get through the grief,LaLa said she began drinking non-stop from morning until night.

“It was how I was coping,” the Bravo star exclusively shared with E! news.”When I went on the full on binge drinking for I believe it was three or fourdays straight, I just woke up with that feeling of being out of control, notknowing what I did, just the guilt and the shame and that was the moment Isaid I’m taking my life back. I’m not living one more day this way.”

Now, the 32-year-old is celebrating three years and 11 months of sobriety.She’s also marking National Recovery Month by sharing her story in hopes ofinspiring those in need.

Before, LaLa said she would go out for a night on the town and be unable toremember what happened the next day. But now, as a mom to 17-month-oldOcean the reality star says she is “present for every single moment” oflife, including all of her daughter’s milestones.

National Recovery Month 2021 Stories of Inspiration

“The fact that my child will never see me in an altered state, that’s justamazing,” she said. “I get to sit here and just remember her hands or thefirst time we went to a barbecue and she got in the pool. I remember everydetail.”

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She also said she’s more alert when she films Vanderpump Rules. According tothe Bravo star, she takes a beat to listen and isn’t “so quick to go in.” Atthe same time, if someone says something that she doesn’t agree with, “I’mpopping up.”

“I do have this internal battle all the time because my line of work doesn’trepresent what my program represents,” she explained. “I’m going into thisenvironment and I am speaking my truth, but at the same time, I go into theserooms where it’s all about becoming a better person. It’s a conflict.”

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In the past three years, Lala said her past and present co-stars—includingStassi Schroder , Katie Maloney and Scheana Marie —have beensupportive of her sobriety. ****

Vanderpump Rules Season 10: Everything We Know

“It’s nice when people take a step back and realize, ‘Wow! Lala goes intoevery moment without any liquid to calm her nerves,'” Lala shared. “I wouldsay those three have been incredible since I started this journey.”

Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Brent Shapiro Foundation

Earlier this month, Stassi and Katie joined Lala as she was honored with theSpirit of Sobriety Award from the Brent Shapiro Foundation, a non-profit whosemission is to save lives through awareness and effective programs thatincentivize kids to abstain from drugs and alcohol.

While she was the honoree for a special evening, Lala said the high schoolstudents working on their own sobriety deserved credit at the event.

“We all say that the youth are our future,” she said. “I really look at themdifferently, especially since becoming a mom. I don’t know any otherfoundation that exists who does what the Brent Shapiro Foundation does.”

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Perhaps the youngest member Lala hopes to leave an impression on is her owndaughter. As Ocean grows into a young girl, her mom hopes she knows that womenhave all the power in the world.

“If you want something, you could most certainly get it,” she said whenrecalling the advice she passes on. “The hardest thing I ever did in my lifeis the proudest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I hope that when she growsup, she sees that she can truly do anything in the entire world.”

And when Lala begins to think about what her dad would say about her progress,she can’t help but light up.

“I know that he’s just beaming up there,” she said. “Even though I miss him somuch, he’s doing work for me up there. The blessings that have come into mylife since my dad has been gone, I will say I thank him pretty frequently.”

(E! and Bravo are part of the NBCUniversal family)

Peacock is live now! Check out NBCU’s streaming service here.

Bob Saget’s friends, family and former co-stars turned out for a cause closeto the actor’s heart on Wednesday night in Beverly Hills. Jimmy Kimmel, JohnMayer and Jeff Ross stepped in to host “Cool Comedy Hot Cuisine,” theScleroderma Research Foundation’s fundraising event which was spearheaded bythe Full House star for 30 years. Saget’s sister Gay died from scleroderma,a rare and often fatal disease, in 1994.

“These bookings have really improved vastly since Bob passed away,” Kimmelquipped on stage as he got the night started.

Regina Hall, Rosie O’Donnell, Kathy Griffin, Norman Lear, Lori Loughlin, JohnStamos, Jodie Sweetin, Joel McHale, Kevin Nealon, Seth Green and Howie Mandelwere among the famous guests in attendance. The event, which was co-chaired bySaget’s wife Kelly Rizzo, also served as a tribute to the beloved comedian.Rizzo and Saget’s daughters were together at the event.

Kelly Rizzo and Lori Loughlin attend “Cool Comedy Hot Cuisine: A Tribute toBob Saget” at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. (Photo: Getty Images)

“What’s so fun about tonight, the only thing that’s fun about it, is we get toshow Bob we wanted to do this,” Kimmel continued, adding: “Everyone shouldhave a friend like Bob Saget. Tonight’s a tribute but it’s also a celebration.… You didn’t really know Bob until you saw him host a Scleroderma Researchdinner. That was the true Bob Saget.”

After dinner and a live auction, the comedy portion of the night featuredstandup sets by Nealon, Mandel and surprise guest Dave Chappelle. Saget andChappelle were friends for decades, ever since the former’s surprising cameoin 1998’s Half Baked. The memorable scene in the stoner comedy depictedSaget less as TV’s dad, and more the raunchy jokester those close to him knewwell.

Chappelle took the stage after making sure everyone’s phones were locked away.He began by going through most of his current material, recounting when he wasattacked four months ago at the Hollywood Bowl. The comic called out the NewYork Post for for doing an interview with the man who knocked him to theground. (Isaiah Lee told the paper he was “triggered” by the comedian’s jokesabout the LGBTQ community and homelessness as he’s bisexual.) Chappelle gotlaughs from the famous crowd recalling how Chris Rock came out after thestunning moment and joked the assailant was Will Smith .

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But it was the end of Chappelle’s set that was touching. The comedian played a”penultimate” message that Saget sent him months before the actor’s death. Inthe video, Sagetes Chappelle on “doing the impossible” with hisaccomplishments and calls him one of the “sweetest” and “most honest” peoplehe ever met.

Chappelle said he received the message at a time when he really needed to hearthose things, calling Saget “af***ing fantastic human being.” The comediansaid it was clear Saget “is in this room tonight.”

“This night is important to him and I wouldn’t miss it for the world,”Chappelle declared.

The evening concluded with a performance by Mayer, who was emotionalthroughout the event. He played a few of “Bob’s favorite songs,” beginningwith “Who Says” — with a very special guitar.

Mayer told the audience that he was playing the guitar Saget used during hislast show in Florida. Rizzo tracked it down, bought it and gifted it to Mayer.The singer said it’s one of his most prized possessions.

Saget was found dead in his Florida hotel room on Jan. 9. The actor was in themiddle of a comedy tour and had performed a gig hours earlier. Saget’s causeof death was the result of blunt head trauma after he likely fell backwardsalone in his hotel room. He was 65.

In one of his final interviews, Saget proudly talked about his work with theScleroderma Research Foundation. “I’ve done over 30 years of benefits andwe’ve raised over $50 million,” he shared. “It’s one of my life’s work.”

Scleroderma is a group of rare diseases that involve the hardening andtightening of the skin. It may also cause problems in the blood vessels,internal organs and digestive tract, according to Mayo Clinic. There is nocure, but the Scleroderma Research Foundation is hoping to change that.Wednesday’s event raised over $1 million, something Saget would clearly be

Director James Cameron has been working on the sequel to . for about fiveyears now Avatar. To bridge the wait, the original film returns to theaterstoday after thirteen years. The makers have promised fans another four films.The second part is almost out now and we already know quite a bit about it.

By Esther Villerius

Making a 3D film requires time, money, special equipment and advancedtechnology. This was already apparent in the original Avatar , with whichCameron first brought a 3D production to a large audience in 2009. Itsproduction lasted four years. But the second part Avatar: The Way of Water ,should have been completed two years ago. In his own words, Cameron only hadto “dot the i’s”.

Cameron is also the director of the second part, but now gets help.Cameron wrote the first film on his own, but a team has been appointed for thefour sequels. Josh Friedman was the first to the rescue and is co-author of_Avatar 2_.

There are three more sequels to come. The shooting of the films got mixedup, which made the production of Avatar 2 delayed. The sequels can bewatched separately. They follow each other every other year, until the releaseof (the presumably last part) Avatar 5 in 2028.

The titles of the other sequels are according to the BBC also known. Itwon’t be Avatar 3, 4 and 5, but Avatar: The Seed Bearer , Avatar: TheTulkun Rider and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa.

The teaser of Avatar: The Way of Water is out, but keeps the plot vague.There is virtually no dialogue. The video shows not so much what happens inthe film, but more what it looks like. Like the underwater scenes, whichCameron actually shot underwater.

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*Later, the storyline of Avatar 2 shared more extensively, but not muchis clear yet. *Jake Sully, the main character of part one, starts a familyon the planet Pandora. When a “known threat” returns, Jake must team up withhis partner Neytiri and the Na’vi army to protect their planet. Jake andNeytiri are forced to leave their home and discover parts of the planet thatare under water during their flight.

The cast is known: many actors from the first part will return to the screenfor the sequel. Zoe Saldaña reprises his role as the Na’vi princess Neytiri,and Sam Worthington returns as Jake Sully, the human who became Na’vi. StephenLang plays the dead Colonel Miles Quaritch and becomes the villain of thesequels.

Several well-known actors join the cast. Kate Winslet, who for Titanic_already worked with James Cameron, plays in the Avatar sequel Ronal. This newcharacter belongs to the Metkayina tribe, a group of Na’vi that live in thewater. The chief of the tribe is Tonowari and is played by Cliff Curtis. OonaChaplin, previously in _Game of Thrones played, makes her appearance asVarang in this film. Her role is still unclear.

The release for Avatar: The Way of Water is scheduled for December 16.The film was often delayed, partly because of the extensive writing processand the making of the other sequels. But the many wanderings during productiondid not scare Cameron.

Against CNN he said, “There were seven years between The Terminator and_Terminator 2: Judgment Day_. In front of Avatar Is that going to be a10-year gap,” Cameron admits. “But you’re going to Avatar 2 with thecertainty that three more films will come after it. That’s a very differentexperience. That justifies a lot of the delay.”

Apple’s new AirPods Pro sound better, but stand out especially at times whenyou’re not listening to music.

By Bastiaan Vroegop

The wireless Pro earbuds have been upgraded after three years. It addresses afew obvious issues. New hardware, for example, makes the sound sound better.During our testing, we noticed a difference, especially in the lower basstones. Audio has a little more impact with the new AirPods Pro.

While calling in strong wind with the AirPods Pro, the other person alsoremains very audible. During test phone calls on the bike, we remained clearlyaudible, while the AirPods filtered the wind well.

In our opinion, the overall noise reduction is also slightly better, althoughwe had little to complain about with the original AirPods Pro. Apple now alsosupplies smaller ear tips in addition to the three standard sizes, so that thetips close better if you have small ear holes.

Finally a volume control

In addition, the new caps have a much-requested volume control. That wasmissing on previous AirPods, so you had to change the volume via Siri or youriPhone. Swipe your finger up or down on the stems and you adjust the sound.

Each swipe is one jump up. If you want to go from soft to loud in one go, youhave to move your finger quite a lot, but this prevents you from accidentallyturning the sound very loud in one go. In practice, we also mainly made smallsound adjustments, so this is not a big problem.

Photo: Apple

Easier to find

There are now four small holes on the bottom of the AirPods Pro: three on theright side and one on the left. Behind the holes on the right is a smallspeaker that is used for the Find My app. The hole on the left is an “acoustichole”, according to Apple, which is intended to take pressure off the speaker.

If you have lost the AirPods, you can play a sound to find them. In addition,the AirPods Pro work like recent AirTags, so that on recent iPhones a compassarrow points in the direction where your lost caps are.

Photo: Apple

A volume control for your everyday life

In our opinion, the biggest improvements are in the Transparency mode of theAirPods Pro. Press and hold the stem of your buds and the noise cancellationwill turn off just like on old models, after which microphones ensure that youcan hear your surroundings better.

With the AirPods Pro from 2019, that ambient noise sometimes sounded a bittinny. This is not the case with the new version: other people’s voices comeacross naturally, making it sound like you have no earplugs in your ears atall. That in itself is a remarkable achievement.

In addition, Apple has added a new feature called ‘Adaptive Transparency’.This ensures that very loud sounds (above 85 decibels) are reduced in volume,but can still be heard clearly. It ensures that a jackhammer, highway or aloud concert is less of a burden on your hearing, but can still be heard.

In practice, it feels like a kind of personal sound mixer for your everydaylife. This is of great added value, especially at concerts: your AirPods makethe music clearly audible and provide a tolerable volume, without missing thetones that are missing from old-fashioned earplugs for hearing protection, forexample.

Conclusion

The new AirPods Pro sound better, but we are especially impressed with theimprovements in transparency mode. This can be a gadget that you also like towear when you are not listening to music, simply to make your environment morebearable. Although the question is how your environment reacts to this: afterall, they will think that you are always listening to music.

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“After I was 40, it looked suspiciously like I was entering my midlife. Mydaughters were increasingly going their own way, I had been working at thesame school for almost twenty years and Peter and I now knew when to presswhich buttons together. Everything was flowing and I felt: I want to get out,not from family life, but something for myself.

Peter suggested a weekend away with a friend, but it wasn’t comprehensiveenough. I really wanted a place for myself, with time and space. Like such aman cave. It became a garden shed at an allotment garden association. A lovelylittle hut, with a couch, a table and some lights. I was immediately clear toPeter: he could come and have a look, but not stay. He was fine with it for along time, because gardening was no use to him and his newspapers wereenough.”

“Sometimes I went for a day, sometimes a weekend. And more and more often afew afternoons in a row. Peter would then do some chores around the house andI would cook, with what I brought from the country. But more and more Inoticed that Peet I hadn’t done anything at all when I came home a few hourslater, that the laundry from that morning was still in the machine, eventhough I had left a note on the table to remind him.

Not that that was a bad thing, but I just didn’t know him that way. Or that hehadn’t eaten all day and when I came home I was cross-eyed with hunger. I wasconcerned, but Peter waved it off.”

Worried face

“In the garden I regularly spoke with Arjan, my single neighbor who had anapartment in the city and liked to sit among the greenery. He often gave mesome of his harvest, because what did he do with fourteen courgettes on hisown? We shared vegetable garden tips and increasingly also a chat pot.

Arjan was the first to ask about my worried face and the first to say out loudthat I was worried about Peter. ‘Shouldn’t I be home more often,’ I dubbed,but Arjan convinced me to keep taking my own space.”

“Four years later, Peter was diagnosed with dementia and he goes to day carethree times a week. It is distressing to see. My once so proud and strong manis now quiet and dependent. In Arjan I found not only a listening ear, butalso love Nobody knows about us yet, and that will remain so for the timebeing I will continue to take care of Peter until the last gasp, and Arjanunderstands that too.

When Peter goes to day care, I visit Arjan. At home or in the garden. Thislanky young man, he’s 54, with his modest life next to my chaos, was alone foryears and seems to understand exactly how love works. He makes my life easier,and makes sure I don’t feel alone. And I give him that too. Even now thatPeter sometimes also takes some of our time and I sit at home on holidays andother important days, without him.”

Peace, nature and love in the vegetable garden

“My daughters have already met Arjan, Peter too, but to the outside world heis a very beloved family friend. Only when it feels right for both of us willwe tell that we have found love in each other. For now my life exists for Imostly take care of my family and I am more grateful than ever for my oasis ofpeace, nature and now also love in the vegetable garden.

Arjan and I enjoy the here and now. We can do that like the best. I’m olderthan him, I have a demented husband, I’m worried about the kids, but itdoesn’t matter. Because if we are together and proudly look at how well thebeets are doing, and I walk into his country with a fresh pumpkin soup, thenwe are close and we live fully.”

The names Joke and Arjan are fictitious names, their real names are known tothe editors.

Wanted: Love Lessons

For the Love Lesson section on RTL Nieuws Lifestyle we are looking forbeautiful, vulnerable, funny, inspiring and honest love lessons. An insight, amoment of reflection. Preferably with a hand in your own bosom. Did youeventually turn out to be the one with fear of commitment? Should you neverhave emigrated for love or did a blended family turn out to be an illusion?Journalist Hanneke Mijnster would like to ask you all about it. You can tellanonymously. Mail to: hanneke.mijnster@rtl.nl.

The Chromecast HD with Google TV has yet to be officially announced, but thestreaming device is already for sale in several countries.

Read on after the ad.

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UPDATE 13.10: The new Chromecast with Google TV can also be ordered in theNetherlands, discovered Android Planet. The streaming dongle is for sale atBol.com and MediaMarkt for 39.99 euros. Android Planet has also spottedthe Chromecast with Google TV HD in a physical store of the MediaMarkt.

_The Chromecast with Google TV (HD) is already sold in stores. _ Remarkable is the name of the dongle, which is referred to by the web shops as‘ 2K HD’ and not the name we’ve seen a lot before: Google Chromecast HDwith Google TV. It is clearly indicated on the packaging that it is the HDversion. The more expensive 4K version therefore has ‘4K’ on the box.

Original article:

Chromecast HD with Google TV appears at online stores

For some time now there have been rumors about the Chromecast HD with GoogleTV, the new and affordable streaming dongle. No announcement has been madeyet, but this is likely to change soon. The famous smartphone insider RolandQuandt now reports that the Chromecast is already on sale in Germany.

The HDMI dongle can be ordered from various web stores. The web shops ask 45to 51 euros for the Chromecast HD and say they can deliver the new Googlegadget within a few days. Quandt also reports that the new Chromecast isalready for sale in various other countries.

Google will probably present the Chromecast HD with Google TV on October 6. Onthat day, a Made by Google event will take place, where the Pixel 7 (Pro) andPixel Watch will also be officially unveiled. It is still unclear whether thenew Chromecast will appear in the Netherlands, but this seems plausible. Afterall, the previous Chromecast has been officially sold in our country sincethis year.

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You are using an ad blocker. We think that’s a shame, because we needadvertisements to offer our articles for free. Support Android Planet byadding us to your whitelist. Thanks in advance!

This is the new Chromecast with Google TV

The Chromecast HD with Google TV is a cheaper alternative to the Chromecastwith Google TV from 2020. The device would be a few tens cheaper and will costabout 40 euros, while you pay 69 euros for the current version. The newstreaming dongle looks the same from the outside as its predecessor, but thereis one important (and big) difference.

The new Chromecast streams movies and series to the maximum in full HDquality, while the current model can also handle sharper 4K images. Inaddition, the device probably has a slower processor and less RAM. We doexpect the latest version of Google TV, based on Android 12.

The Chromecast HD again comes with a remote control to navigate through theinterface. You can download apps from all popular streaming services, such asNetflix, HBO Max, Videoland and Disney Plus. Google TV provides viewingrecommendations and has a handy watch list function, which allows you to saveinteresting titles for later.

Many pieces of music played at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral were chosen for theirspecial significance to both the Queen and Westminster Abbey.

One of the songs was ‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’. The song was also sung atElizabeth’s wedding to Prince Philip in 1947 at the same church.

The song ‘O Taste and See’ was written by Ralph Vaughan Williams for theQueen’s coronation ceremony in 1953, which also took place at WestminsterAbbey. Williams’ ashes are interred in the famous abbey.

The hymn “Love Divine, All Loves Exceeding” was sung at the wedding of theQueen’s grandson, Prince William, to Catherine in 2011.

Listen to a snippet of The Lord ‘s My Shephard below.

Much of the music for the Windsor service later Monday is by composer WilliamHenry Harris, who was also the chapel’s organist between 1933 and 1961. He issaid to have taught the Queen to play the piano as a child.

the sermon

The service was led by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, amongothers. He quoted in his sermon Elizabeth’s promise she made on her 21stbirthday to dedicate her life to service. “Rarely has such a promise been sowell kept. Few leaders receive the outpouring of love we have seen.”

“Those who serve will be loved and remembered, while those who cling to powerand privilege are long forgotten,” Welby said in his sermon.

Welby’s musings, addressed to the 2,000 in attendance at Westminster Abbey,centered on eternal life after death, a central message of traditionalChristian funerals.

Own input

The service was taken from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, the official prayerbook of the Church of England. The Queen is said to have been fond of thisbook, along with the hymns and readings the Queen had personally chosen forher funeral.

View the funeral liturgy here

One of the readings was from the Bible book of John, which contains the famoussaying of Jesus: “I am the way, the truth and the life”. In the run-up toQueen Elizabeth’s funeral, the Archbishop spoke in an interview about hisrelationship with the British Queen and about her life of faith.

Watch the conversation with Justin Welby below.

God save the king

The service at Westminster Abbey concluded with the national anthem ‘God savethe king’. King Charles was the only one not to sing along, because the songis addressed to him. Charles’ 9-year-old grandson, Prince George, and hisgranddaughter Charlotte (7) also sang the national anthem.

After the memorial service at Westminster Abbey, another service followed inWindsor. About 800 people were invited to the service at St George’s Chapel,including Queen Margrethe of Denmark.

Read here which royals were also at the funeral.

Pray

At the beginning of the service in St George’s Chapel, Pastor David Connorpraised Queen Elizabeth’s service to the country. “Here in the chapel whereshe has prayed so often, we are reminded of one whose uncomplicated yetprofound Christian faith has borne so much fruit, fruiting in a life ofunwavering service to the nation, the Commonwealth and the world at large. Butalso in kindness, concern and reassuring concern for her family, friends andneighbors.”

“In a fast-paced and often troubled world, her calm and dignified presence hasgiven us confidence to face the future with courage and hope. With gratefulhearts, we reflect on these and many other ways her long life has blessed us.We pray that God will give us grace to honor her memory by following her

Bam! Bam! Bam! In one of the opening scenes of the second episode of ‘Andor’,a stout man climbs the stone steps of a tower staircase. In the ridge of thetower, high above the city, he reaches for two bronze hammers that look atleast as impressive as Thor’s hammer.

Erik StockmanWednesday 21 September 202217:54

The man checks for a moment that his worn-out noise-canceling headphones arefirmly on his ears, then starts pounding a giant cast-iron anvil with purehand force with his two hammers: bám! Bam! Bam! The clattering hammers, whosemighty sound echoes all over the city, have been used to usher in the eveningon the planet Ferrix since time immemorial. For the workers, this is thesignal to hang their gloves on the hook, the lights are extinguished in thegigantic spaceship hangars, everyone rushes home in the evening twilight. Butas far as we’re concerned, those hammer sounds can also be interpreted in adifferent way: they form the melodious signal that a masterly ‘Star Wars’series has finally started on Disney +.

It’s as if that stout man with his thunderous blows is shaking up the entiredoomed ‘Star Wars’ franchise again: bám! Bam! Bam! Because yes: after thesomewhat childish ‘The Mandalorian’, the deadly brave ‘The Book of Boba Fett’and the quickly collapsed ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ we finally get a ‘Andor’, of whichwe were allowed to watch the first four episodes, ‘ Star Wars’ series that notonly lives up to the high expectations, but exceeds in almost every area – thevisuals, the dialogues, the music, the story, the performances, the characterdrawings – magnificently.

That timid figure who, like all the other inhabitants, hastens through thestreets of Ferrix at dusk, is Cassian ( Diego Luna ), a poacher who makesa living selling stolen spaceship parts. We are Cassian in a galaxy far, faraway We’ve run into him before: at the beginning of the fantastic ‘Rogue One'(2016) we saw him walking around a bazaar on the Ring of Kafrene withdetermined pace. In ‘Rogue One’, Cassian showed himself not only as a ruthlesskiller, but also as a brave rebel, who Jyn Erso ( Felicity Jones ) helpedloot the Death Star building plans. Set up as a prequel to ‘Rogue One’,’Andor’ sees Cassian rise from common petty thief to captain of the RebelAlliance’s intelligence service.

The hammer scene described above also makes something else clear: namely that’Andor’, more than the other ‘Star Wars’ series on Disney +, was deeplygrounded by its creators in the rituals, customs and daily life on theplanets. where the story takes place. The hammerman who beats his anvil everynight. The mechanics who hang their welding machines in a dilapidatedwarehouse under the body of rusty spaceships. A passenger who grumbles thatthe shuttle has to make a few rounds again before it can start landing, justlike passenger planes sometimes have to circle above the airport for a whilewhen busy. While the other ‘Star Wars’ series made us feel just a little toomuch like we were watching digital pixels, ‘Andor’ shot on physical film sets,with a lot of drab realism and a wonderful eye for detail, immerses us in atangible reality: that city on the planet Ferrix, for example, was completelyrecreated in England. The locations we visit in the first four episodes – thepale grays of Ferrix, the forests of Cassian’s home planet Kenari, thelandscapes of Aldhani resembling the Scottish highlands – are a welcome changefrom the completely worn-out sands of Tatooine.

Another plus is the surprisingly neat photography: see for example themagnificent shot of the speeder that, leaving behind a streak of splashingwater, zooms through a rice field-like landscape. A remarkably beautiful scorefrom Nicholas Britello also: just listen to that short, melancholyfragment of music that blows by when Cassian is commissioned by the mysteriousLuthen ( Stellan Skarsgard ) accepts a job on the planet Aldhani. Who’sSeen ‘Rogue One’ – And Now Here’s A Spoiler! – know why the music in thatcrucial scene doesn’t sound too elated: because Cassian, the moment he saysyes to Luthen and thus effectively joins the rebel army, seals his own fate.Dead man walking! There is talent behind this, so we can only conclude afterthe first four episodes, and yes: the showrunner and screenwriter of ‘Andor’is none other than Tony Gilroy the man who previously penned ‘The Devil’sAdvocate’, ‘Dolores Claiborne’, ‘State of Play’, ‘Rogue One’ and the entireJason Bourne franchise.

With ‘Andor’ Gilroy finally gives us a ‘Star Wars’ series that (at least inthe first four episodes!) cuts the ties with the boredom Jedi and the Sithwith a heavy blow of the lightsaber. A series that for once does not deal withexcessive fan service, which does not feel like a lukewarm extract of thefilms we love so much, and those – thank the Jawas! – really light years awayfrom the cowie-koedie-koedie series with Baby Yoda and Grandpa Fett meant forbottle kids. In fact, ‘Andor’ stands alone in the ‘Star Wars’ universe so muchthat it would feel completely out of place if Darth Vader or a digitallyrejuvenated Luke Skywalker suddenly appeared later in the season for somereason. As far as we’re concerned, ‘Andor’ thus far gives us everything welove so much, from the magical sound of a spaceship starting up over cracklinglaser guns to the beautiful image of good old Stellan Skarsgård on a speeder(that we may experience that! And even better: that Stellan may stillexperience that!).

You know, it would take us a hundred thousand words to define the ‘Star Wars’feeling, but really it comes down to this: just like ‘A New Hope’, ‘The EmpireStrikes Back’, ‘The Force Awakens’ and ‘ Rogue One’, just like the very best’Star Wars’ movies, we sat enchanted, breathless and – bám! Bam! Bam! – wideawake, glued to the screen.