Jim Parks obituary | England cricket team

 Posted on May 18, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1247 words  |  Valentine Belue

Jim Parks at the County Ground, Hove. Photograph: Bill Smith/Popperfoto/Bob Thomas Sports Photography/Getty ImagesJim Parks at the County Ground, Hove. Photograph: Bill Smith/Popperfoto/Bob Thomas Sports Photography/Getty ImagesEngland cricket teamObituaryJim Parks obituarySussex wicketkeeper-batsman whose selection for the England Test team was a new departure for international cricketThe selection of Jim Parks to play his second Test match for England in 1960 marked the beginning of a trend towards the pre-eminence of wicketkeeper-batsmen in international cricket. [Read More]

LBJ's medal for valour 'was sham' | World news

 Posted on May 18, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  176 words  |  Kary Bruening

World newsLBJ's medal for valour 'was sham'For most of his political life, Lyndon B Johnson wore a second world war military decoration for valour under fire despite never having seen combat, an investigation broadcast on CNN yesterday revealed. LBJ was awarded the Silver Star, the third-highest US combat medal, for a 1942 fact-finding mission over the Pacific while he was a Texas congressman and an acting lieutenant commander in the navy. [Read More]

Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance review super-stabby sequel a cut above its predecessors

 Posted on May 18, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  351 words  |  Valentine Belue

FilmReviewBrisk addition to the British gangster franchise dials down the misogyny and ups the dramatic stakes This is the sixth instalment in this very British, peripheral gangster franchise set in the 1990s, and maybe I’m going soft but it feels like the quality of the film-making has gone up a skoosh since the last effort, Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins. There is still a lot of repetitive fighting, stabbing and killing sequences – the fans wouldn’t watch if there weren’t – but this time round the script by Andrew Loveday and Jason Maza has more focus and dramatic heft. [Read More]

The 20 greatest Christmas albums ranked! | Christmas

 Posted on May 18, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1346 words  |  Kary Bruening

Weary optimism … Sufjan Stevens. Photograph: Denny RenshawWhether you fancy a heartwarming carol with Elvis or the story of a yuletide drug dealer from OutKast, there’s a festive album for you in our rundown of the best ever by Alexis Petridis20. The Roches – We Three Kings (1990)The US avant-folk trio began their musical career carol singing, which makes We Three Kings a kind of back-to-their-roots enterprise. Quite sparsely arranged, it allows the Roche sisters’ harmonies to dazzle – the acappella Star of Wonder is magical – while their New York-accented Winter Wonderland is an absolute hoot. [Read More]

The forgotten neighborhood: how New Yorks Chinatown survived 9/11 to face a new crisis | Septembe

 Posted on May 18, 2024  |  12 minutes  |  2376 words  |  Kary Bruening

The usually bustling streets of Chinatown were empty for months after 9/11. Composite: The Guardian/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images/Corbis/AFPFirst the World Trade Center, then the pandemic – a neighborhood beset by high unemployment, shuttered businesses, xenophobia and delayed relief by Eveline Chao in New YorkBy the time the second plane appeared on 11 September 2001, Amy Chin was already running away from the World Trade Center plaza, where smoke and papers were billowing down from the north tower. [Read More]

What I learned about addiction from a Czech crystal meth cook | Barbora Beneov

 Posted on May 18, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  1062 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

This is EuropeDrugs This article is more than 1 year oldWhat I learned about addiction from a Czech crystal meth cookThis article is more than 1 year oldBarbora BenešováThe rural back yards of the Czech Republic hide Europe’s biggest methamphetamine problem. Users like Lenka have a complex story to tell Barbora Benešová is the director of Lenka, a Guardian Documentaries film I was researching ideas for a documentary when a friend told me about a village in a rural region of the Czech Republic. [Read More]

Women watch men strip for fun. Men watch women for darker reasons | Tanya Gold

 Posted on May 18, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1121 words  |  Valentine Belue

OpinionGender This article is more than 14 years oldWomen watch men strip for fun. Men watch women for darker reasonsThis article is more than 14 years oldTanya GoldFor women, it has nothing to do with sex. For men, it is about powerWhen we watch others shed their clothes, what do we reveal about ourselves? The Chippendales are in Britain this month to kick off a 20-city European tour, and the girls at the Spearmint Rhino lap-dancing club are always available. [Read More]

Andy Warhol's 'fright wigs' go on display in UK for first time | Andy Warhol

 Posted on May 17, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  513 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Andy Warhol This article is more than 3 years oldAndy Warhol's 'fright wigs' go on display in UK for first timeThis article is more than 3 years oldTate Modern show features the late pop artist’s hairpieces along with 100 works Three precisely coiffured wigs Andy Warhol probably glued to his head because he feared they would “fly off” are to go on display in the UK for the first time. [Read More]

Bianca Jagger: 'I did not ride the horse into Studio 54. I just got on it' | Music

 Posted on May 17, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  374 words  |  Aldo Pusey

MusicBianca Jagger: 'I did not ride the horse into Studio 54. I just got on it'Animal rights campaigner maintains there is a crucial difference between riding a horse into a club and simply getting on an animal that is already there Bianca Jagger has sought to set the record straight on one of clubbing’s most enduring legends: the night of 2 May 1977, when she was said to have ridden into the New York nightclub Studio 54 astride a white horse. [Read More]

Brian Main obituary | Engineering

 Posted on May 17, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  409 words  |  Kary Bruening

Other livesEngineeringObituaryBrian Main obituaryMy friend and former work colleague Brian Main, who has died aged 81, was always fascinated by mechanical matters. He had a natural flair for mechanical design and was an expert from a young age in building and repairing machinery – a talent learned in his native Africa and which served him well throughout his life. From 1977 Brian’s work at Westland helicopters in Yeovil, Somerset, focused on creating a helicopter to replace the ageing Sea King. [Read More]