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Review: Curvy Widow' covers scant new ground
Curvy Widow: Solo comedy. By Bobby Goldman. Performed by Cybill Shepherd. Directed by Scott Schwartz. (Through March 9. Post Street Theatre, 450 Post St., San Francisco. 90 minutes. Tickets: $50-$75. Call (415) 771-6900 or go to www.ticketmaster.com.) "Curvy Widow Seeks Playmate," the voluptuously curvy Cybill Shepherd pronounces triumphantly from her seat at a laptop as the words roll out on a screen behind her at typing speed. Fresh from the end of a six-year affair with a married man, her one romance following the death of her husband of 27 years, the 57-year-old title character in "Curvy Widow" is taking the plunge into cyberspace dating - with grit, determination, intelligence and what seems meant to be an infectious sense of humor. It isn't very funny, though not for want of trying - hard.
ACTU pleads for rate rise amnesty
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is being urged to consider the plight of working families when deciding whether to increase interest rates this week. Analysts say higher than expected December quarter inflation figures and solid domestic demand give the RBA a strong case to increase interest rates at its board meeting in Sydney tomorrow. If the bank's board does decide to raise rates, they will be at their highest level in 12 years. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) says low and middle income families cannot afford another rise, and the RBA should hold rates at current levels until the full impact of the global financial situation becomes clearer. ACTU president Sharan Burrow says many families already have their finances stretched to the limit by mortgages, credit cards and other loans, and the RBA should look at other economies.
Celebrities Celebrate Art
LA is so much more than Disneyland and Hollywood studios. Last night the city of the stars celebrated the opening of The Broad Contemporary Art Museum at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. An A-list crowd including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tony Bennett, Dustin Hoffman and of course The Cruises showed their support. Katie looked beautiful even if we're not loving the scarf while Tom looked perfectly put together in his three piece suit. Christina continued to show off her curves in a bold blue dress while playing it up for the cameras. Joel Madden kept things rock and roll while Nicole looked elegant, well rested and calm in her soft taupe colored dress. They came to cheer on Grandpa Lionel Richie who was part of the evening's entertainment but they didn't stay long since they went on to Clive Davis' Pre-Grammy party.
BBC in private equity talks
Amazon is to bow out of DVD rentals and throw its weight behind Lovefilm, the leading European specialist,. Amazon is to transfer its subscribers and inject some cash to Lovefilm in exchange for a stake believed to be about 30 per cent of the company and valued at about £60 million (E80m) to £70 million.
Simon Calver, chief executive of Lovefilm, said the arrival of Amazon as the single biggest shareholder did not mean an end to plans for an eventual initial public offering or buy-out of the business. "This puts those options more firmly on the table than before," he said. Lovefilm, which hired Goldman Sachs in December 2006 to explore its strategic options, is backed by Arts Alliance Media, Index Ventures, Balderton Capital and DFJ Esprit. Amazon will offer LovefilmÂ’s rental service via its own websites in the UK and Germany and provide marketing support.
McCain's CPAC Suck-up
There are similar Disqualifying Statements in politics, words that will extinguish your enthusiasm for a candidate at the very moment when you are ready to swoon for him (or her). Here's one of those words: "Hagel." As in: Barack Obama has often said he'd consider putting Repbulicans in his cabinet and even bandied about names like Sens. Dick Lugar and Chuck Hagel. Forget that this is a cliche appeal to hack Washington bipartisanism, that Sen. Hagel's reputation seems to have been built on the substitution of good looks and agonizing passion for coherent, articulated thought, that the press mainly loves him because he's always ready to go on television and stab his party in the back. Why would you promote Hagel at the very moment when his prediction that the Surge was "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam" appears to have been humiliatingly wrong? Disastrously wrong, potentially, if it had been heeded.
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