Superman vs the ICEman
Speaking of his MAGAsty, Tablelander Lorraine Milla has serious concerns regarding Don Bain's dream: 'While Orange is known as the Colour City, we certainly do not need a colourful character such as the 'leader of the free world' to move here'.
Looks like John Howard (C8) isn't the only pariah among pets. Ross Storey of Normanhurst claims his daughter's cavoodle Rufus 'growls at Donald Trump when he appears on the television screen'.
Mark Baldwin of Terrigal is more than happy to accommodate Ros Turkington (C8): 'Ida was, of course, immortalised in song by Glenn Miller, Eddie Cantor, Eddie Leonard, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, among others: 'Ida! Sweet as apple cider ... Ida, I idolize ya, I love you Ida, 'deed I do'. And inflicted on us during player piano singalongs and then by my music teacher during seemingly interminable piano lessons.'
Forget Jack the Stripper (C8). David Prest of Thrumster recalls a time when the sideshows at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney in the '60s had a decidedly burlesque vibe about them. 'There was the 'attraction' Vanessa the Undresser, but as a young Navy apprentice, naive and under 18, I didn't have the courage to view the undressing of Vanessa.'
Seppo Ranki of Glenhaven isn't foxing when he declares, 'Yes, Jane Howland [C8], most of us have noticed that for drivers of the expensive German marques, the use of indicators is merely a suggestion, not a requirement. I approach every roundabout with trepidation if there is an Audi in sight.'
'It's not so much that their indicators don't work, rather that the drivers of such vehicles regard signalling beneath them, as it diminishes their entitlement status,' adds Tim O'Donnell of Newport.
Wait! There's spore. Bruce Satchwell of Carrara (Qld) confirms that 'Caz Willis [C8] wasn't hallucinating in encountering a talking mushroom. In 1973, the Canberra Times reported that the inventor Arthur Breckenridge from Mudgee was in town for the inauguration of coin-operated talking mushrooms on vantage points across Canberra, but the one deployed on Red Hill broke down within a few hours. There was talk of relocating it to old Parliament House, but there was not mushroom inside.'
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The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- The Advertiser
US ballerina on pointe to farewell celebrated career
There are plenty of consequential decisions to be made in every career, and they tend to become more consequential as time goes on. So it was when Gillian Murphy, one of the most admired American ballerinas for almost three decades, began contemplating not only when, but how to retire from American Ballet Theatre. She knew she wanted to go out on a high note. Murphy, at 46, is in incredible shape; at a rehearsal earlier in July, she was leaping and twirling like colleagues in their 20s. But in what role should she take her final bow, after 29 years with the company? Should it be as Juliet? As Giselle? The first of these ends up stabbing herself to death. The other goes mad. The best (and most athletic) option, it turned out, was to jump off a cliff. That's what swan queen Odette does at the end of the company's version of Swan Lake - followed in this dramatic leap by the prince who loves her, to be joyfully reunited in the afterlife. (In real life they leap onto a mattress offstage, dust themselves off and clamber back for the finale.) Murphy, who's known for her Odette/Odile - especially those fouettes, Odile's fiendishly hard whiplash turns - retired with Swan Lake on Friday night, ending her career in a blur of bouquets, tears and golden confetti before a sold-out Metropolitan Opera House crowd. Once the ballet finished, Murphy hugged fellow dancers including Misty Copeland, who will retire with fanfare in October. She was also greeted by her husband, former ballet theatre principal dancer Ethan Stiefel, and their six-year-old son, Ax, who'd just watched him mum perform at the opera house for the first time. Murphy was 17 when she joined the ballet theatre. Did she imagine such a long career? "I would have never expected to be dancing this long, honestly," she said. "I think in my mind I always had 40 years old as a time frame. But I didn't expect to feel this good at this point. "I've truly loved my career at ABT, and it's given me the opportunity to dance all over the world. So I'm happy I'm still here." Ballet takes a huge amount of athletic ability - dancers need to be actors, too - and Murphy has developed her abilities as she has aged. "I do feel that life experience really does come out in performances," she says. "And when we're telling these stories about true love and forgiveness and loss, all the dramatic sort of themes that come out in these ballets, it does make a difference when you've experienced those things in your life." While some of the company's dancers have chosen Juliet for their retirement performance, Murphy settled on a much more physically demanding role with Swan Lake. "It doesn't get any easier, yeah," she says, laughing. "I have so many favourite roles, but Swan Lake includes two of my most favourite, Odette and Odile. "It's always been incredibly challenging, but also so fulfilling. When I was a kid, my dream role was the Black Swan (Odile), actually. So just in a full-circle moment, it feels special to finish with this ballet that I dreamed of doing as a kid, and first did as a young soloist with ABT 24 years ago." Murphy is known for Odile's fouettes (32 whiplash turns on one leg that the Black Swan performs) and throwing in double turns. "I used to throw in triples, triple pirouettes in the middle of the fouettes," she says. "But I think I just want to finish strong ... and take risks elsewhere." The decision to retire is a tough call in any career, and no less so for Murphy. "It's never an easy decision for any dancer. It's a calling from a very early age ... but I've always wanted to finish strong and with my own sense of agency," she says. "I really relish when that sense of imagination and life experience and artistry is integrated with the physicality, the athleticism, the technique. And I feel like I'm still in that place where I can do that. So I want to finish with that sense of fullness." Thankfully, Murphy has largely avoided any major injuries or setbacks along her way. "I've been pretty fortunate about bouncing back from muscle strains and things like that," she says. "You know, dancers are not robots. Like an athlete, we can have an off day and (we should) not let that be too discouraging. That's par for the course. "I'd say coming back from pregnancy and an emergency c-section was not easy ... but I was able to get onstage and do a full-length Giselle when my son was eight months old. And then, a couple of weeks after that, the pandemic hit. I had just gotten everything back together." Murphy plans to lean into coaching and staging once she hangs up her pointe shoes, especially choreography. "I also want to take some time to process this huge transition and consider options and think about what I really want to do," she says. "I would be really surprised if it doesn't involve giving back or working in some way in the dance world, because it's so meaningful to me. Clearly, this is a lifetime pursuit." There are plenty of consequential decisions to be made in every career, and they tend to become more consequential as time goes on. So it was when Gillian Murphy, one of the most admired American ballerinas for almost three decades, began contemplating not only when, but how to retire from American Ballet Theatre. She knew she wanted to go out on a high note. Murphy, at 46, is in incredible shape; at a rehearsal earlier in July, she was leaping and twirling like colleagues in their 20s. But in what role should she take her final bow, after 29 years with the company? Should it be as Juliet? As Giselle? The first of these ends up stabbing herself to death. The other goes mad. The best (and most athletic) option, it turned out, was to jump off a cliff. That's what swan queen Odette does at the end of the company's version of Swan Lake - followed in this dramatic leap by the prince who loves her, to be joyfully reunited in the afterlife. (In real life they leap onto a mattress offstage, dust themselves off and clamber back for the finale.) Murphy, who's known for her Odette/Odile - especially those fouettes, Odile's fiendishly hard whiplash turns - retired with Swan Lake on Friday night, ending her career in a blur of bouquets, tears and golden confetti before a sold-out Metropolitan Opera House crowd. Once the ballet finished, Murphy hugged fellow dancers including Misty Copeland, who will retire with fanfare in October. She was also greeted by her husband, former ballet theatre principal dancer Ethan Stiefel, and their six-year-old son, Ax, who'd just watched him mum perform at the opera house for the first time. Murphy was 17 when she joined the ballet theatre. Did she imagine such a long career? "I would have never expected to be dancing this long, honestly," she said. "I think in my mind I always had 40 years old as a time frame. But I didn't expect to feel this good at this point. "I've truly loved my career at ABT, and it's given me the opportunity to dance all over the world. So I'm happy I'm still here." Ballet takes a huge amount of athletic ability - dancers need to be actors, too - and Murphy has developed her abilities as she has aged. "I do feel that life experience really does come out in performances," she says. "And when we're telling these stories about true love and forgiveness and loss, all the dramatic sort of themes that come out in these ballets, it does make a difference when you've experienced those things in your life." While some of the company's dancers have chosen Juliet for their retirement performance, Murphy settled on a much more physically demanding role with Swan Lake. "It doesn't get any easier, yeah," she says, laughing. "I have so many favourite roles, but Swan Lake includes two of my most favourite, Odette and Odile. "It's always been incredibly challenging, but also so fulfilling. When I was a kid, my dream role was the Black Swan (Odile), actually. So just in a full-circle moment, it feels special to finish with this ballet that I dreamed of doing as a kid, and first did as a young soloist with ABT 24 years ago." Murphy is known for Odile's fouettes (32 whiplash turns on one leg that the Black Swan performs) and throwing in double turns. "I used to throw in triples, triple pirouettes in the middle of the fouettes," she says. "But I think I just want to finish strong ... and take risks elsewhere." The decision to retire is a tough call in any career, and no less so for Murphy. "It's never an easy decision for any dancer. It's a calling from a very early age ... but I've always wanted to finish strong and with my own sense of agency," she says. "I really relish when that sense of imagination and life experience and artistry is integrated with the physicality, the athleticism, the technique. And I feel like I'm still in that place where I can do that. So I want to finish with that sense of fullness." Thankfully, Murphy has largely avoided any major injuries or setbacks along her way. "I've been pretty fortunate about bouncing back from muscle strains and things like that," she says. "You know, dancers are not robots. Like an athlete, we can have an off day and (we should) not let that be too discouraging. That's par for the course. "I'd say coming back from pregnancy and an emergency c-section was not easy ... but I was able to get onstage and do a full-length Giselle when my son was eight months old. And then, a couple of weeks after that, the pandemic hit. I had just gotten everything back together." Murphy plans to lean into coaching and staging once she hangs up her pointe shoes, especially choreography. "I also want to take some time to process this huge transition and consider options and think about what I really want to do," she says. "I would be really surprised if it doesn't involve giving back or working in some way in the dance world, because it's so meaningful to me. Clearly, this is a lifetime pursuit." There are plenty of consequential decisions to be made in every career, and they tend to become more consequential as time goes on. So it was when Gillian Murphy, one of the most admired American ballerinas for almost three decades, began contemplating not only when, but how to retire from American Ballet Theatre. She knew she wanted to go out on a high note. Murphy, at 46, is in incredible shape; at a rehearsal earlier in July, she was leaping and twirling like colleagues in their 20s. But in what role should she take her final bow, after 29 years with the company? Should it be as Juliet? As Giselle? The first of these ends up stabbing herself to death. The other goes mad. The best (and most athletic) option, it turned out, was to jump off a cliff. That's what swan queen Odette does at the end of the company's version of Swan Lake - followed in this dramatic leap by the prince who loves her, to be joyfully reunited in the afterlife. (In real life they leap onto a mattress offstage, dust themselves off and clamber back for the finale.) Murphy, who's known for her Odette/Odile - especially those fouettes, Odile's fiendishly hard whiplash turns - retired with Swan Lake on Friday night, ending her career in a blur of bouquets, tears and golden confetti before a sold-out Metropolitan Opera House crowd. Once the ballet finished, Murphy hugged fellow dancers including Misty Copeland, who will retire with fanfare in October. She was also greeted by her husband, former ballet theatre principal dancer Ethan Stiefel, and their six-year-old son, Ax, who'd just watched him mum perform at the opera house for the first time. Murphy was 17 when she joined the ballet theatre. Did she imagine such a long career? "I would have never expected to be dancing this long, honestly," she said. "I think in my mind I always had 40 years old as a time frame. But I didn't expect to feel this good at this point. "I've truly loved my career at ABT, and it's given me the opportunity to dance all over the world. So I'm happy I'm still here." Ballet takes a huge amount of athletic ability - dancers need to be actors, too - and Murphy has developed her abilities as she has aged. "I do feel that life experience really does come out in performances," she says. "And when we're telling these stories about true love and forgiveness and loss, all the dramatic sort of themes that come out in these ballets, it does make a difference when you've experienced those things in your life." While some of the company's dancers have chosen Juliet for their retirement performance, Murphy settled on a much more physically demanding role with Swan Lake. "It doesn't get any easier, yeah," she says, laughing. "I have so many favourite roles, but Swan Lake includes two of my most favourite, Odette and Odile. "It's always been incredibly challenging, but also so fulfilling. When I was a kid, my dream role was the Black Swan (Odile), actually. So just in a full-circle moment, it feels special to finish with this ballet that I dreamed of doing as a kid, and first did as a young soloist with ABT 24 years ago." Murphy is known for Odile's fouettes (32 whiplash turns on one leg that the Black Swan performs) and throwing in double turns. "I used to throw in triples, triple pirouettes in the middle of the fouettes," she says. "But I think I just want to finish strong ... and take risks elsewhere." The decision to retire is a tough call in any career, and no less so for Murphy. "It's never an easy decision for any dancer. It's a calling from a very early age ... but I've always wanted to finish strong and with my own sense of agency," she says. "I really relish when that sense of imagination and life experience and artistry is integrated with the physicality, the athleticism, the technique. And I feel like I'm still in that place where I can do that. So I want to finish with that sense of fullness." Thankfully, Murphy has largely avoided any major injuries or setbacks along her way. "I've been pretty fortunate about bouncing back from muscle strains and things like that," she says. "You know, dancers are not robots. Like an athlete, we can have an off day and (we should) not let that be too discouraging. That's par for the course. "I'd say coming back from pregnancy and an emergency c-section was not easy ... but I was able to get onstage and do a full-length Giselle when my son was eight months old. And then, a couple of weeks after that, the pandemic hit. I had just gotten everything back together." Murphy plans to lean into coaching and staging once she hangs up her pointe shoes, especially choreography. "I also want to take some time to process this huge transition and consider options and think about what I really want to do," she says. "I would be really surprised if it doesn't involve giving back or working in some way in the dance world, because it's so meaningful to me. Clearly, this is a lifetime pursuit." There are plenty of consequential decisions to be made in every career, and they tend to become more consequential as time goes on. So it was when Gillian Murphy, one of the most admired American ballerinas for almost three decades, began contemplating not only when, but how to retire from American Ballet Theatre. She knew she wanted to go out on a high note. Murphy, at 46, is in incredible shape; at a rehearsal earlier in July, she was leaping and twirling like colleagues in their 20s. But in what role should she take her final bow, after 29 years with the company? Should it be as Juliet? As Giselle? The first of these ends up stabbing herself to death. The other goes mad. The best (and most athletic) option, it turned out, was to jump off a cliff. That's what swan queen Odette does at the end of the company's version of Swan Lake - followed in this dramatic leap by the prince who loves her, to be joyfully reunited in the afterlife. (In real life they leap onto a mattress offstage, dust themselves off and clamber back for the finale.) Murphy, who's known for her Odette/Odile - especially those fouettes, Odile's fiendishly hard whiplash turns - retired with Swan Lake on Friday night, ending her career in a blur of bouquets, tears and golden confetti before a sold-out Metropolitan Opera House crowd. Once the ballet finished, Murphy hugged fellow dancers including Misty Copeland, who will retire with fanfare in October. She was also greeted by her husband, former ballet theatre principal dancer Ethan Stiefel, and their six-year-old son, Ax, who'd just watched him mum perform at the opera house for the first time. Murphy was 17 when she joined the ballet theatre. Did she imagine such a long career? "I would have never expected to be dancing this long, honestly," she said. "I think in my mind I always had 40 years old as a time frame. But I didn't expect to feel this good at this point. "I've truly loved my career at ABT, and it's given me the opportunity to dance all over the world. So I'm happy I'm still here." Ballet takes a huge amount of athletic ability - dancers need to be actors, too - and Murphy has developed her abilities as she has aged. "I do feel that life experience really does come out in performances," she says. "And when we're telling these stories about true love and forgiveness and loss, all the dramatic sort of themes that come out in these ballets, it does make a difference when you've experienced those things in your life." While some of the company's dancers have chosen Juliet for their retirement performance, Murphy settled on a much more physically demanding role with Swan Lake. "It doesn't get any easier, yeah," she says, laughing. "I have so many favourite roles, but Swan Lake includes two of my most favourite, Odette and Odile. "It's always been incredibly challenging, but also so fulfilling. When I was a kid, my dream role was the Black Swan (Odile), actually. So just in a full-circle moment, it feels special to finish with this ballet that I dreamed of doing as a kid, and first did as a young soloist with ABT 24 years ago." Murphy is known for Odile's fouettes (32 whiplash turns on one leg that the Black Swan performs) and throwing in double turns. "I used to throw in triples, triple pirouettes in the middle of the fouettes," she says. "But I think I just want to finish strong ... and take risks elsewhere." The decision to retire is a tough call in any career, and no less so for Murphy. "It's never an easy decision for any dancer. It's a calling from a very early age ... but I've always wanted to finish strong and with my own sense of agency," she says. "I really relish when that sense of imagination and life experience and artistry is integrated with the physicality, the athleticism, the technique. And I feel like I'm still in that place where I can do that. So I want to finish with that sense of fullness." Thankfully, Murphy has largely avoided any major injuries or setbacks along her way. "I've been pretty fortunate about bouncing back from muscle strains and things like that," she says. "You know, dancers are not robots. Like an athlete, we can have an off day and (we should) not let that be too discouraging. That's par for the course. "I'd say coming back from pregnancy and an emergency c-section was not easy ... but I was able to get onstage and do a full-length Giselle when my son was eight months old. And then, a couple of weeks after that, the pandemic hit. I had just gotten everything back together." Murphy plans to lean into coaching and staging once she hangs up her pointe shoes, especially choreography. "I also want to take some time to process this huge transition and consider options and think about what I really want to do," she says. "I would be really surprised if it doesn't involve giving back or working in some way in the dance world, because it's so meaningful to me. Clearly, this is a lifetime pursuit."
Perth Now
5 hours ago
- Perth Now
US ballerina on pointe to farewell celebrated career
There are plenty of consequential decisions to be made in every career, and they tend to become more consequential as time goes on. So it was when Gillian Murphy, one of the most admired American ballerinas for almost three decades, began contemplating not only when, but how to retire from American Ballet Theatre. She knew she wanted to go out on a high note. Murphy, at 46, is in incredible shape; at a rehearsal earlier in July, she was leaping and twirling like colleagues in their 20s. But in what role should she take her final bow, after 29 years with the company? Should it be as Juliet? As Giselle? The first of these ends up stabbing herself to death. The other goes mad. The best (and most athletic) option, it turned out, was to jump off a cliff. That's what swan queen Odette does at the end of the company's version of Swan Lake - followed in this dramatic leap by the prince who loves her, to be joyfully reunited in the afterlife. (In real life they leap onto a mattress offstage, dust themselves off and clamber back for the finale.) Murphy, who's known for her Odette/Odile - especially those fouettes, Odile's fiendishly hard whiplash turns - retired with Swan Lake on Friday night, ending her career in a blur of bouquets, tears and golden confetti before a sold-out Metropolitan Opera House crowd. Once the ballet finished, Murphy hugged fellow dancers including Misty Copeland, who will retire with fanfare in October. She was also greeted by her husband, former ballet theatre principal dancer Ethan Stiefel, and their six-year-old son, Ax, who'd just watched him mum perform at the opera house for the first time. Murphy was 17 when she joined the ballet theatre. Did she imagine such a long career? "I would have never expected to be dancing this long, honestly," she said. "I think in my mind I always had 40 years old as a time frame. But I didn't expect to feel this good at this point. "I've truly loved my career at ABT, and it's given me the opportunity to dance all over the world. So I'm happy I'm still here." Ballet takes a huge amount of athletic ability - dancers need to be actors, too - and Murphy has developed her abilities as she has aged. "I do feel that life experience really does come out in performances," she says. "And when we're telling these stories about true love and forgiveness and loss, all the dramatic sort of themes that come out in these ballets, it does make a difference when you've experienced those things in your life." While some of the company's dancers have chosen Juliet for their retirement performance, Murphy settled on a much more physically demanding role with Swan Lake. "It doesn't get any easier, yeah," she says, laughing. "I have so many favourite roles, but Swan Lake includes two of my most favourite, Odette and Odile. "It's always been incredibly challenging, but also so fulfilling. When I was a kid, my dream role was the Black Swan (Odile), actually. So just in a full-circle moment, it feels special to finish with this ballet that I dreamed of doing as a kid, and first did as a young soloist with ABT 24 years ago." Murphy is known for Odile's fouettes (32 whiplash turns on one leg that the Black Swan performs) and throwing in double turns. "I used to throw in triples, triple pirouettes in the middle of the fouettes," she says. "But I think I just want to finish strong ... and take risks elsewhere." The decision to retire is a tough call in any career, and no less so for Murphy. "It's never an easy decision for any dancer. It's a calling from a very early age ... but I've always wanted to finish strong and with my own sense of agency," she says. "I really relish when that sense of imagination and life experience and artistry is integrated with the physicality, the athleticism, the technique. And I feel like I'm still in that place where I can do that. So I want to finish with that sense of fullness." Thankfully, Murphy has largely avoided any major injuries or setbacks along her way. "I've been pretty fortunate about bouncing back from muscle strains and things like that," she says. "You know, dancers are not robots. Like an athlete, we can have an off day and (we should) not let that be too discouraging. That's par for the course. "I'd say coming back from pregnancy and an emergency c-section was not easy ... but I was able to get onstage and do a full-length Giselle when my son was eight months old. And then, a couple of weeks after that, the pandemic hit. I had just gotten everything back together." Murphy plans to lean into coaching and staging once she hangs up her pointe shoes, especially choreography. "I also want to take some time to process this huge transition and consider options and think about what I really want to do," she says. "I would be really surprised if it doesn't involve giving back or working in some way in the dance world, because it's so meaningful to me. Clearly, this is a lifetime pursuit."
Sydney Morning Herald
12 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Superman's real-life kryptonite: The incredible shrinking cinema business
There's a new Superman movie in theatres this week and business is, as they say, boffo! ' Superman soars to $[US]122 million, third-biggest box office opening weekend of 2025,' raved Variety, referring to ticket sales in the United States and Canada. (In Australia, the film brought in $8.13 million for the weekend.) If you follow box-office news, it's all very normal: big bucks, records broken, blah blah blah. But there is one thing in Hollywood that's rarer than a substantive movie role for a female actor over 40, and that's the disclosure of the actual number of tickets a particular film sells on a particular weekend in a box-office report. That number can lead you into an alternative reality worthy of a David Lynch film. It also explains why going to the movies is so freaking irritating these days. Now, $US122 million ($187 million) might seem like a respectable haul for an opening weekend. However, if you look up the average cost of a movie ticket in the US, which is $US11 and change, and then do a little maths, you get the number of actual tickets that Superman sold: About 11 million. (The number is actually a lot lower; those big-franchise films get a disproportionate share of their incomes from high-priced Imax showings and the like, but that's another story.) Let's flash back to the last big Superman movie, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, in 2016. That opened to $US166 million. Here's where we step through the looking glass. Movie ticket prices back then were $US8.50. More maths, and we get … 20 million tickets sold on the opening weekend. In other words, the Superman franchise has lost about half its fan base. Holy Kryptonite, Batman! Loading Hollywood's biggest secret: despite all the incessant talk about box-office records, ticket sales have been heading south – for decades. Per capita movie-ticket sales were down by a third in the first 20 years of this century. (Australia's admissions have declined similarly, from 92.5 million in 2001 to 55.4 million last year.) The pandemic made things much worse, of course, but the rebound hasn't brought us back. Fewer ticket sales mean someone has to pay, and it's coming out of the pockets of those among us who still go to see movies on the big screen. It feels a lot like being mugged. My wife and I went to the swanky Hoyts in Sydney's Entertainment Quarter to see F1: The Movie the other night. Tickets for the 'Xtreme Screen' showing were about $30 – and as I checked out online I saw that Hoyts had added a $5.10 'booking fee' to the order. (That extra 10 cents was a nice touch.)
