Month: January 2021

Mike Fenton, casting director for Steven Spielbergs E.T. and Back to the Future, dies at 85 – USA TODAY
Lifestyle & Arts

Mike Fenton, casting director for Steven Spielbergs E.T. and Back to the Future, dies at 85 – USA TODAY

Mike Fenton, the casting director behind some of Hollywood's most beloved films including the "Back to the Future" movies, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" and "The Godfather Part II," has died at age 85. Fenton racked up an impressive resume casting movie and TV projects for more than 50 years, became a frequent collaborator with filmmakers including Steven Spielberg, and co-founded the Casting Society of America in 1982. "His remarkable accomplishments and his incredible work in elevating the awareness and appreciation of the craft of casting defines his legacy in the entertainment industry," CSA co-presidents Russell Boast and Rich Mento said in a statement. Fenton's son Mick told The Hollywood Reporter that he died Wednesday of natural causes at his Los Angeles...
Michael Blackson Says COVID Lowered His Sex Drive, Recommends Vaccine – TMZ
Lifestyle & Arts

Michael Blackson Says COVID Lowered His Sex Drive, Recommends Vaccine – TMZ

Play video content Exclusive TMZ.com Michael Blackson has a very important reason why people should get the COVID vaccine ... he says it's better than getting the virus, which he claims left his penis limp. We got the comedian doing some holiday shopping on Rodeo Drive in Bev Hills, and he told us he had COVID and it sucked, which is reason enough in his mind to do everything you can to protect against the virus. Michael's encouraging folks to get vaccinated so they don't suffer his fate ... a bout with the 'rona and a "limp d***." It's the COVID symptom you don't hear much about, but surely don'...
Taiwan Vows to Stick to Covid-19 Limits – The New York Times
Health & Fitness

Taiwan Vows to Stick to Covid-19 Limits – The New York Times

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Consider for a moment, in this time of anguish and loss and death, of mass unemployment and flattened national economies, the Twilight Zone alternate reality that is Taiwan. For months and months, life on the island has been, in a word, normal — spookily so. Weddings have been held, worry free. People have packed pro ball games, attended cello concerts and thronged night markets. Taiwan’s population is larger than Florida’s, but its Covid-19 death toll can be counted on two hands. It is the kind of off-the-charts success against the virus that has created a sinking feeling in the stomachs of many residents: How much longer can the island’s good fortune last? For Chen Shih-chung, Taiwan’s health minister and head of its epidemic command center, success is all the more rea...
In graying Italy, the old defy biases laid bare by pandemic – Associated Press
Health & Fitness

In graying Italy, the old defy biases laid bare by pandemic – Associated Press

ROME (AP) — From his newsstand at the bottom of two hilly streets in Rome, Armando Alviti has been dispensing newspapers, magazines and good cheer to locals from before dawn till after dusk nearly every day for more than a half-century. “Ciao, Armando,” his customers greet him as part of their daily routine. “Ciao, amore (love)” he calls back. Alviti chuckled as he recalled how, when he was a young boy, newspaper deliverers would drop off the day’s stacks at his parents’ newsstand, sit him in the emptied baskets of their motorbikes and take him for a spin. Since he turned 18, Alviti has operated the newsstand seven days a week, with a wool tweed cap to protect him from the Italian capital’s winter dampness and a tabletop fan to cool him during its torrid summers. A mighty battle therefo...
As US inches closer to 350,000 Covid-19 deaths, one model projects about 115,000 more could die in next four weeks – CNN
Health & Fitness

As US inches closer to 350,000 Covid-19 deaths, one model projects about 115,000 more could die in next four weeks – CNN

"We're also worried that at some point soon we're going to have a really tough time finding the space and the staff to take care of all the sick patients coming in with Covid-19 who really need our help," said Dr. Nicole Van Groningen of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. And Friday's bleak case milestone also means the nation has also recorded by far the most Covid-19 infections. It's double what India -- the country with the second-highest number of cases -- has reported and nearly triple what Brazil -- the third country in line -- has reported. But the worst may not be over just yet: experts fear that in the coming weeks -- following holiday travel and gatherings -- the US could see another surge of cases that could also drive hospitalizations and deaths even higher. Dr. Anth...
Perspective | Ask Amy: Extreme judgment might lead to radical acceptance – Washington Post
Lifestyle & Arts

Perspective | Ask Amy: Extreme judgment might lead to radical acceptance – Washington Post

Maybe some of this comes from the fact that I've been nervous about my own weight — more so during the pandemic. Do you have advice on how to be kinder and less judgmental? How to get space from mean, prejudiced thought patterns? I don't want to be this way. I have a therapist, but I actually think I've been too embarrassed to be honest about how ugly my internal monologue is, because I'm disgusted by it. Secret Mean Girl: I give you credit for admitting how your harsh judgment of others affects your own self-esteem. If you come from a family where people compulsively eat their feelings (been there, eaten that), being back home triggers your own fears of disordered eating. Sometimes, our harshest judgments of others will reveal our own vulnerabilities. This may seem a little out there,...
Different efficacy data for Chinese COVID-19 vaccine “real and valid”-media – Yahoo! Voices
Health & Fitness

Different efficacy data for Chinese COVID-19 vaccine “real and valid”-media – Yahoo! Voices

BEIJING (Reuters) - Different efficacy results for a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine released separately in China and in United Arab Emirates are both real and valid, an executive at China National Biotec Group (CNBG) told state media. China approved its first COVID-19 vaccine for general public use on Thursday, a shot developed by an affiliate to state-backed Sinopharm, after the developer said the vaccine showed 79.34% efficacy based on an interim analysis of late-stage clinical trials. That rate is lower than the 86% rate for the same vaccine reported by the United Arab Emirates on Dec. 9. Countries have certain differences in their standards and procedures in diagnosing patients, and the final results of COVID-19 case identification were different, Yang Xiaoming, chairman at Sinopharm unit'...
California medical staff gave COVID-19 vaccines to RELATIVES instead of healthcare workers – Daily Mail
Health & Fitness

California medical staff gave COVID-19 vaccines to RELATIVES instead of healthcare workers – Daily Mail

At least two hospitals in Southern California have been found to be vaccinating the relatives of employees working at the facilities, many of whom are not involved in healthcare whatsoever. Redlands Community Hospital in Culver City said it was left with 'extra' doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and so reached out to people who didn't work at the medical center.  The hospital claims that the vaccine doses would have otherwise expired and insists that all first-responders working at the 420-bed facility were treated first. At least two hospitals in Southern California have been vaccinating non-frontline workers having received 'extra' doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine including Redlands Community Hospital A relative who works at Southern California Hospital, but...
Miley Cyrus slips into a skintight orange get-up and declares: NEW YEAR. SAME ME on Instagram – Daily Mail
Lifestyle & Arts

Miley Cyrus slips into a skintight orange get-up and declares: NEW YEAR. SAME ME on Instagram – Daily Mail

Miley Cyrus put her unfiltered personality on full display as she performed during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on Thursday night.  And the singer-songwriter, 28, celebrated the first day of 2021 by modeling an orange disco era inspired ensemble for her 119million Instagram followers. 'NEW YEAR. SAME ME,' declared Cyrus as she posed with her back to the camera and her hands cupped around her pert derriere. You better werk! Miley Cyrus celebrated the first day of 2021 by modeling an orange disco era inspired ensemble for her 119million Instagram followers Her first name was spelled out in rhinestones on the back of her flared pants, which she proudly showed off in a follow-up snapshot. Resting behind the star was a bright pink Christmas tree...
Kylie Jenner stays warm in a furry coat as she and sister Kendall go shopping in Aspen – Daily Mail
Lifestyle & Arts

Kylie Jenner stays warm in a furry coat as she and sister Kendall go shopping in Aspen – Daily Mail

They've been getting in some quality sister time after leaving most of their family behind to vacation in snowy Colorado. And Kylie Jenner and her sister Kendall were out in force on Friday as they went shopping together at Ralph Lauren in Aspen. The 23-year-old cosmetics mogul and the 25-year-old model showcased their dueling chic winter ensembles as they stepped out in the western tourist town. Shopping trip: Kylie Jenner, 23, and her sister Kendall, 25, were spotted out in Aspen, Colorado, on Friday as they went for a sisters shopping trip to a Ralph Lauren store Kylie and Kendall were seen climbing out a white SUV while surrounded by their entourage and security. The Kylie Cosmetics founder was unmissable in a lustrous beige coat that reached down to her chunky b...