Peter Hujar: the photographer who defined downtown New York

 Posted on April 4, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1245 words  |  Kary Bruening

Susan Sontag 1975. Photograph: The Peter Hujar Archive, LLC; courtesy Pace MacGill GallerySusan Sontag 1975. Photograph: The Peter Hujar Archive, LLC; courtesy Pace MacGill GalleryPhotographyA bohemian at home in the city’s most dangerous and clandestine areas, success evaded Hujar in his lifetime, but his reputation has steadily grown since his death The photograph on the cover of Antony and the Johnsons’ breakthrough album I am a Bird Now is Candy Darling on Her Deathbead, 1973. [Read More]

Roy Scheider, police chief in Jaws, dies aged 75 | Movies

 Posted on April 4, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  443 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Movies This article is more than 15 years oldRoy Scheider, police chief in Jaws, dies aged 75This article is more than 15 years oldThe actor Roy Scheider, best remembered as the neurotic small-town police chief in Jaws, died on Sunday of complications from multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood cells. He was 75. Although Scheider had a distinguished career on stage and screen, he will be remembered for his performance in the film credited with launching the age of movie blockbusters. [Read More]

The internet didn't kill Tallulah Wilson, but nor did it do much to help her | Children

 Posted on April 4, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  930 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

The ObserverChildrenThe internet didn't kill Tallulah Wilson, but nor did it do much to help herIn the rush to blame websites for teenage suicides, we risk losing sight of the real causes of these deaths"Her eyes look sad," is one Twitter user's post beneath Tallulah Wilson's photograph. The image of a striking, unsmiling 15-year-old with disarmingly large eyes accompanies almost every article on last week's inquest into her suicide. We don't know when it was taken; perhaps Tallulah was perfectly content then. [Read More]

The last word on Brando | Cannes 2007

 Posted on April 4, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  314 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Cannes 2007The last word on BrandoMike Medavoy strikes a rare downbeat note at the launch of Brando: The Documentary. The veteran producer befriended Brando in his later years and is executor of the actor's estate; the keeper of the flame. Without Medavoy there would presumably have been no documentary. Yet even now he seems unsure he's done the right thing. When Marlon Brando died in 2004 he left behind a fascinating legacy of triumph, waste and tragedy. [Read More]

The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer review the sleuth is out there

 Posted on April 4, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  410 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

The ObserverCrime fictionReviewThe much-loved comic proves adept at noirish fiction in a debut whose surrealist humour sets it apart Gary Thorn is in the middle of investigating a serious criminal case in south London involving police corruption, domestic violence, possibly even murder, when he stops in the street to speak to a passing squirrel. He tells the squirrel what he’s planning to do next and the creature, as ventriloquised by Gary, tries to talk him out of it. [Read More]

Treacle Walker by Alan Garner review the book of a lifetime

 Posted on April 4, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  719 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

The ObserverAlan GarnerReviewMyth meets modern science in a late masterwork brimming with ideas and imagination Alan Garner’s novels are usually separated into his wildly successful books aimed at children – The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Elidor, The Owl Service and The Moon of Gomrath – and his adult writing – The Stone Book Quartet, Thursbitch and Strandloper, which are more difficult and quixotic, at least thematically (Garner is always an author of supremely clear and readable prose). [Read More]

US professor, who says being transgender is a 'delusion', to speak at WA university | Western Austra

 Posted on April 4, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  267 words  |  Kary Bruening

Western AustraliaUS professor, who says being transgender is a 'delusion', to speak at WA universityUniversity of Western Australia to go ahead with event despite more than 6,000 students signing a petition A US professor of paediatric medicine, who says the transgender movement is based on ideology rather than science, will speak at the University of Western Australia despite pressure to ban him. A student petition with more than 6,000 signatures is protesting against the appearance on Friday of the paediatric endocrinologist Dr Quentin Van Meter, who is on a national tour sponsored by The Australian Family Association. [Read More]

A joke that went out of control: crowdfunding weapons for Ukraines war

 Posted on April 3, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1108 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

UkraineIn just nine hours, the Prytula Foundation raised $5.5m from private donors to buy 50 FV103 Spartans used by the British Army Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates By Christmas, 50 hardly used FV103 Spartan armoured personnel carriers (APCs), until recently the property of the British army, and currently in warehouses in secret locations across the UK, will arrive on the frontline in Ukraine’s war with Russia in time for the toughest winter conditions. [Read More]

Binders Full of Women Writers: can a secret Facebook group be inclusive?

 Posted on April 3, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1098 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

FeminismCan an online ‘safe space’ be both selective and preoccupied with inclusivity? That’s a question that Binders Full of Women Writers is trying to sort out after a member published an article about the Facebook group The first rule of Binders Full of Women Writers is: you do not talk about Binders Full of Women Writers. But on Monday, a core tenet of that secret Facebook group was violated by one of its own, prompting a swift reaction from moderators. [Read More]

Ethan Ewing follows in late mothers footsteps with emotional Bells Beach win

 Posted on April 3, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1076 words  |  Kary Bruening

SurfingAustralian dedicates victory at famous break to his mum Helen who rang the bell in 1983 When Ethan Ewing lifted the iconic Rip Curl Pro trophy at Bells Beach on Tuesday, it was a moment imbued with significance. This was no ordinary World Surf League (WSL) victory. As Ewing rang the bell – famously, “you’ve got to win it to ring it” – he was following in the footsteps of his late mother, Helen Ewing (née Lambert). [Read More]