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Post by Quettalee on Apr 7, 2006 9:03:32 GMT -5
Lawless floors Holmes
07 April 2006
By JANE BOWRON
If you've been whizzing out to the airport of late you may have noticed the giant Prime billboard with it's Not the 6 O'clock News advertisement and mug shots of the presenters.
In the ageist tradition of television hosts, the women have been airbrushed to look younger and in their prime while anchorman Eric you-make-me-feel-so Young has been aged to look ever-so-distinguished in the mode of the late Peter Jennings of ABC.
But all air brushes and grey power aside the "new" 5.30pm news is as smart as paint and it's great to see Young back unencumbered by a toastie hostie (Kate Hawkesby) and giving us a news bulletin which cuts to the chase in the first 15 minutes.
And what a relief to have a break in the weather, as in not have a specially assigned weather presenter, with Young giving us a mercifully swift precis of the temperatures before the bulletin's close.
I do hate the way the main centres' predictions for the following day are held back to the bitter end so that we city folk wind up feeling like the kiddie on Christmas morning waiting to be told when we can unwrap our present.
As for occasional weekend presenter Brendan Horan over on TV One, the big lug seems obsessed with the promotion of school fairs in small villages and hamlets, regularly busting a gut to give them a mention.
No town is too small or insignificant for the self-appointed Mr Heartland to overlook while the big smokers' bun rushes are given the tiniest of mentions.
I know regular weather presenter Karen Olsen comes across as a bit prissy, but she's rock steady and gave quite a moving interview on Close Up with Susan Wood about her previous work experience taking the pulse of the volcano on Raoul Island the night the big one blew and a Conservation Department worker tragically perished.
As for Prime's other new show, Holmes (Wednesday, 7.30pm), it was far better than I thought it would be. He did elicit sides we had never seen before with the country's biggest pay packet, Telecom boss Theresa Gattung, and movie and TV star Lucy Lawless. More on those two local dames later, but I was absolutely staggered at the appearance of Judy Collins on the show as the first guest.
When Holmes introduced Collins her white hair swept up in an old-woman-in-the-shoe bun and her slightly lopsided mouth didn't equate with the angelic visage on the cover of her Both Sides Now album back in her heyday.
My immediate reaction to the introduction of Holmes' big star to kick-off the comeback kid's brand new show was Judy Collins – who she?
Holmes had read her autobiography and talked her through her early years while she sang snatches of ditties her father used to warble such as "Grab your coat and get your hat".
AdvertisementAdvertisementShutting your eyes one could have been listening to late-night talkback when the old ducks ring in and start singing songs of yesteryear till the host hits the exit button.
It wasn't long before Holmes cut to the nitty gritty, bringing up her son's suicide. "He takes his own life. How did that affect you?"
Move over Babs Walters. Later in the interview he adopted the royal We, saying: "Now we are on to our 43rd album" which made one think immediately of his own sallies into croondom.
But ah, when Collins ended the show with an unaccompanied rendition of Both Sides Now, the song Joni Mitchell wrote and sang over the phone to her in the middle of the night all those years ago, it sent a quiver of shivers up the spine.
His next guest, Theresa Gattung, was clearly so chuffed to be on the show her eyes couldn't stop twinkling as she sat parked up next to Judy in the big red chairs that did nothing for a girl's legs.
But it was Lucy Lawless, or Flawless Lawless as Holmes referred to her, who was the most engaging guest. I thought the show was supposed to be live, but he had prerecorded a "rare interview with our most distinguished actress" (now that really is going too far) and my golly she was frank.
Thanking the lesbian community for clasping her to their bosoms after the eighth episode of Xena Warrior Princess went to air, Lawless told how big Xena was in Iran and Turkey and there followed a rather hilarious discussion about undercover lesbians in that part of the world.
But it was Lawless' recollections of the happy time she wiled away while working in Kalgoorlie with her boyfriend gathering minerals and how there was nothing but beep beep beep to do all day long, that had me gasping.
To which Holmes had to beep her back as you do when a beautiful dame goes ballsy on you mid-interview.
And then, as she so delicately put it, she "got knocked up" and the fruit of all that beeping is now 18 years old and has a green mohawk and is an amazing woman.
The cameras cut to Holmes as he pulled his puzzled pixie expression and then it swung back to Lawless who was so terribly engaging to look at. For the first time I got her.
It was a top show and nothing like Parkinson, which it purported to be based on. All his guests behaved as if they were under the effects of a full, slightly crazy moon and that made for great television.
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Post by Quettalee on Apr 23, 2006 10:45:45 GMT -5
Just resized image to keep it from stretching the page, and added a link to the larger version. ~~Joxcee
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Post by Quettalee on Jun 4, 2006 21:46:08 GMT -5
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Post by Quettalee on Jun 29, 2006 20:54:45 GMT -5
Toonz Animation, a huge Indian animation company, Commotion Pictures and Epic Level Entertainment are teaming up to produce a DRAGONLANCE animated film to be distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The screenplay was reportedly adapted from Dragons of Autumn Twilight by George Strayton.
Lucy Lawless, who will voice Goldmoon, posted the following on her site:
"I just did the voice of an animated cartoon for Paramount, called Dragonlance. Obviously it's a fantasy story, with gods and monsters -- (no lesbian subtext). I never felt I nailed animated performance before, so wanted to get a handle on it.
I played a character called "Goldmoon," a Native American. We played around with accents awhile. I didn't know she was Native A till I got there and so didn't have time to research the accent (not many of those where I come from). More staccato! More commanding! More warm! Less disjointed! . . . Ummm, do you just want me to do Xena? Ahh, yes! That's it, do Xena! The voice is perfect! So warm, so commanding, so . . . yeah, yeah, let's get on with it.
It was actually really fun. At last I have done something my friends can actually watch. My son is gratified that I am not playing a bad guy. He can't stand me going to BSG every day to be mean to humans.
Oh well, it's a living!"
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Post by Quettalee on Jun 29, 2006 20:57:25 GMT -5
Joxcee, I just did a quick check and I need to run, but I read that she has her own website now. I couldn't find it.....pretttty pleeeease, with a big hug on top....  Only if you have the time and are so inclined!  |
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Post by Joxcee on Jun 30, 2006 19:18:24 GMT -5
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Post by Quettalee on Jul 2, 2006 23:43:22 GMT -5
Thanks, luv.  |
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Post by Joxcee on Jul 3, 2006 0:40:15 GMT -5
You're very welcome. I posted the links at Whoosh ages ago, but it must have been around the time you stopped going over there completely. 
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Post by Joxcee on Jul 30, 2006 20:10:13 GMT -5
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Post by Joxcee on Jul 30, 2006 20:10:47 GMT -5
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Post by Quettalee on Jul 31, 2006 5:25:46 GMT -5
Xena and her warrior women Xena Warrior Princess July 31, 2006 By Kim Clayton-Millar She stood tall as an oak tree, her long jet-black hair framing a face men would kill for; her body worthy of the silks of a pampered queen, but dressed instead in skin-tight leather; her only adornments a sword and pair of lethal hands able to crack a head open with one blow. Her name was Xena … for best effect, whispered, her still-adoring fans will tell you, with just a little breathlessness in the tone. In the mid 1990s, millions of television viewers worldwide found themselves drawn to an action fantasy adventure series with a mythological Greek setting - a time of ancient gods, warmongers and demons - in which a captivating Amazonian-like, yet sexy, female warrior called Xena kicked some serious butt, yet still managed to attract the guys, and, if the ever- hopeful gay fans of the show's fondest wish were true … a girl (Gabrielle) too. Xena, Warrior Princess ran from 1995 to 2001 and starred gorgeous Lucy Lawless as a young woman forced to toughen up and fight for physical superiority to most of the men in her life, when her family was slaughtered by a band of pillaging militia. After being a feared and loathed badass, the warring princess' conscience pricked her into turning her back on old feuds and using her physical attributes to fight for good instead. She literally kicked over a new leaf by rescuing a girl called Gabrielle from thugs. The starry-eyed maiden then nagged the warrior woman into dragging her along on her adventures and soon became Xena's intimately devoted sidekick through a campy, funny and fight-filled series of fantasy adventures. Lawless as Xena earned such huge cult status that literally hundreds of web sites devoted to all things Xena sprung up on the 'Net, most still in existence. Fanfare reached such a fever pitch that a new term, "xenaverse" - used to describe things set in the universe of the show - was even coined . The rest, as they say, was television icon-making history. Happily, for those who've missed the action she-hero and loved the concept of a woman winning battles, hearts and making a difference in history, there is hope. Tuesday night, as part of the celebration of Women's month on SABC2, an action-filled edutainment series called Warrior Women, consisting of five one-hour documentary films (a different one will go out every Tuesday at 9.30pm for the rest of the month) will be screened.
The films, hosted and narrated by Lucy Lawless, are a mix of real- life historical stories about five dissimilar female warriors - Mulan, Boudica, Grace O'Malley, Lozen and Joan of Arc - all of whom had different passions and causes but shared the common bond of being strong, fearless women who not only survived, but ruled in the male-dominated society into which they were born. The New Zealand-born Lawless, is perfect to front this series, as the iconic warrior woman hero character Xena she made her own, while fictional, epitomised the spirit of the real-life warrior women featured in this unique series. To give the doccies authenticity, taking viewers into the core of each woman's world and bringing history more realistically to life, they were shot on location in France, Ireland, Britain, China, and New Mexico. These are no Hallmark channel pretty stories and while they are artistically shot, the filmmakers have tried to keep each re-enacted tale faithful to the facts. While some still prefer their historic tales to come in the form of dusty old library books, this series is a chance for viewers to learn more of, or re-visit, what they already know about these five iconic heroines through the visually expressive medium of television. |
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Post by Quettalee on Jul 31, 2006 5:29:48 GMT -5
Thanks, Jox', for the links. I loved the video! However, the camera will have to go on without my bid. Since it's already over $1500--and with school starting and all--just don't have that kind of extra cash lying around right now. LOL. Or ever. Happy Monday! |
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Post by Joxcee on Jul 31, 2006 17:30:25 GMT -5
You're very welcome Q. I'm passing on the camera too.
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Post by Joxcee on Aug 15, 2006 17:29:38 GMT -5
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Post by Quettalee on Aug 23, 2006 20:22:45 GMT -5
Planet vote might end tough times for Pluto 08/23/2006 By Jim Hendricks After more than 75 years, the whole planet Pluto debate appears to be headed for a resolution. There are, of course, those of us who thought the matter had been decided some time back on account of when we were in school, we opened our science textbooks to full-color drawings of the solar system — one sun, nine planets, a few moons here and there, an asteroid belt and, occasionally, a nice comet with a fiery tail to add a little oomph to the overall aesthetics of the composition. You learned which one was which. Earth wasn’t hard to pick out because every schoolroom had a globe. Saturn had the rings, Jupiter was big with a red splotch, Mars was red all over, Mercury was closest to the sun, Venus was the one next to Earth that wasn’t red, Uranus and Neptune were the big ones past Saturn. That left Pluto, a little dark, icy rock that was sort of stuck out on the end and not very distinguished. The name’s probably where Pluto’s public relations problem started. The other planets were named for mythological gods who specialized in popular areas such as beauty, quickness, war, oceans and such. Uranus is even the subject of a joke that was once funny involving the starship Enterprise, a roll of Charmin toilet paper and Klingons. Pluto, meanwhile, was named after the undertaker god. That’s just not the kind of job that’s going to endear you to other mythological deities and get you invited over to Venus’s place for witty conversation and cocktails. Pluto’s simply not a name that garners a lot of respect, even from a fun guy like the late Walt Disney. Disney came up with Goofy, a dog who talks and wears a hat and, in a cartoon rarity, a shirt and britches, unlike Donald Duck, a sailor who runs all over the place showing off his tail feathers. Pluto, on the other hand, also is a dog, only he can’t talk, but he does bark at chipmunks, gnaw bones, live out back in a doghouse and have a rat for an owner. So, I guess it’s no surprise that scientists who fret over this sort of thing have been debating whether Pluto is even worthy of being called a planet. In fact, they tried to come up with a whole new category for it — pluton. Unfortunately, geologists had already staked out that word for “igneous rock that has solidified below the earth’s surface,” a good thing to know if you ever get on “Jeopardy.” Foiled by the geologists, some members of the International Astronomical Union decided to resort instead to coming up with an actual definition for the word planet, which seems to have gone an inordinate amount of time without having a clear one. The whole group is expected to vote this week on the recommendation that would instantly give our solar system three new planets — Ceres, which has been an asteroid until now; Charon, which has been Pluto’s moon but it turns out they’re sort of cohabitating, and UB313, a new one out around Pluto that some folks are calling Xena, which could be a popular decision because it could prompt Lucy Lawless to break out her old skimpy leather outfit and go on tour as its official spokeswoman. While I think everyone is naturally congratulatory when an individual or celestial sphere gets a well-deserved promotion, we can only hope that these scientists realize the impact their decision will have on the world. Schoolchildren, for instance, will have to memorize three more planets, a 33 percent increase over what their parents had to remember. This could cut seriously into PS2 time. Plus, all the little foam ball solar system models will have to be recalled and redesigned. I made one out of coat hangers, fishing line and hand-painted Styrofoam balls in elementary school and it was difficult enough to balance 10 balls, much less adding three more. I also wouldn’t be surprised to find out that voting members of the science union have suddenly become popular on textbook publishers’ guest lists for cocktail parties where attractive waitresses dressed up like Xena are bringing them free drinks and laughing at their jokes. Even the one with Uranus, the Enterprise and those pesky Klingons. |
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Post by Joxcee on Aug 23, 2006 21:01:35 GMT -5
Did you know that Xena has a moon named Gabrielle? Google: Planet Xena+Moon Gabrielle 
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Post by Quettalee on Aug 23, 2006 23:59:37 GMT -5
Yep! How cool is that?!
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Post by Joxcee on Aug 24, 2006 0:03:48 GMT -5
Let's hope they keep the names. 
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Post by Quettalee on Aug 24, 2006 11:14:09 GMT -5
This blows me away!!
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight.
After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of what is — and isn't — a planet fills a centuries-old black hole for scientists who have labored since Copernicus without one.
Although astronomers applauded after the vote, Jocelyn Bell Burnell — a specialist in neutron stars from Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings — urged those who might be "quite disappointed" to look on the bright side.
"It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called 'planet' under which the dwarf planets exist," she said, drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella.
The decision by the prestigious international group spells out the basic tests that celestial objects will have to meet before they can be considered for admission to the elite cosmic club.
For now, membership will be restricted to the eight "classical" planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: "a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."
Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.
Instead, it will be reclassified in a new category of "dwarf planets," similar to what long have been termed "minor planets." The definition also lays out a third class of lesser objects that orbit the sun — "small solar system bodies," a term that will apply to numerous asteroids, comets and other natural satellites.
It was unclear how Pluto's demotion might affect the mission of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, which earlier this year began a 9 1/2-year journey to the oddball object to unearth more of its secrets.
The decision at a conference of 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries was a dramatic shift from just a week ago, when the group's leaders floated a proposal that would have reaffirmed Pluto's planetary status and made planets of its largest moon and two other objects.
That plan proved highly unpopular, splitting astronomers into factions and triggering days of sometimes combative debate that led to Pluto's undoing.
Now, two of the objects that at one point were cruising toward possible full-fledged planethood will join Pluto as dwarfs: the asteroid Ceres, which was a planet in the 1800s before it got demoted, and 2003 UB313, an icy object slightly larger than Pluto whose discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena has nicknamed Xena.
Charon, the largest of Pluto's three moons, is no longer under consideration for any special designation.
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Post by Quettalee on Aug 27, 2006 2:51:02 GMT -5
Xena thrilled with place among stars
26 August 2006
By COLIN PATTERSON and AGENCIES
Kiwi actress Lucy Lawless is delighted her favourite character is to be immortalised in space.
The International Astronomical Union agreed in Prague on Thursday that two distant objects would become dwarf planets - one which carries a nickname of the television warrior princess played by Lawless.
It was originally called 2003 UB313, an icy object slightly larger than Pluto. However, its discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology, nicknamed it Xena - a name that stuck.
The second object was the asteroid Ceres, which was a planet in the 1800s before it got demoted.
The woman who spent six years being Xena said the decision was a compliment to everyone who worked on the show.
Lawless found out Xena was being considered for dwarf planet status from fans.
Before the vote was taken Lawless had been in contact with Gerard van Belle, a delegate at the Prague conference.
AdvertisementAdvertisement"He said the name Xena may be passed over for something more classical, like Persephone. My response was swift: 'Who's Peresphone anyway? Didn't I kill her in the second season?'"
Lawless said Professor van Belle told her that even if 2003 UB313's application were approved, the name might drift away from Xena.
"I told him there would be no drifting. The name's Xena. It's been foretold."
Delegates also voted to demote Pluto - formerly the ninth rock from the Sun - from the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. It is now a dwarf planet - like Xena.
Professor Brown, whose Xena find rekindled calls for Pluto's demise because it showed it was not as singular as it once seemed, said: "Eight is enough. I may go down in history as the guy who killed Pluto."
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