‘Uptown Funk’ still number one on British music chart |
- ‘Uptown Funk’ still number one on British music chart
- A dairy case of world domination
- Wenger challenges Arsenal to show consistency after Villa rout
- ‘American Sniper’ tops US box office for third week
- Justin Timberlake ecstatic over baby news
- Jim Parsons: Cheesy and proud of it
| ‘Uptown Funk’ still number one on British music chart Posted: 01 Feb 2015 05:12 PM PST
The single, which features Hawaii-born singer Bruno Mars, outsold Irish artist Hozier's song about love and religion "Take me to Church", which came in second place, and "L.A. Love" by Fergie in third. The top five was completed by "Lips are Movin" by Meghan Trainor in fourth and new entry "Four Five Seconds" by Barbadian star Rhianna, which also features Kanye West and Paul McCartney. Ronson could not hold on to number one position in the album charts, where Trainor's new entry "Title" earned her a chart-topping debut studio album. Ed Sheeran's "X" continued its long spell in the top five, charting in second place ahead of Ronson's "Uptown Special". — Reuters  |
| A dairy case of world domination Posted: 01 Feb 2015 05:07 PM PST FEBRUARY 2 — For the longest time, I've been trying my hardest to use the word gorgonzola in a story. Alas, in my 14 years of being a journalist, I have never had the chance to actually use it, even after doing numerous food reviews including at restaurants that were most likely to use the weirdly-named cheese. (Italian, anyone?) That odd dairy product, which is described as either "buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a 'bite' from its blue veining" according to a Wikipedia entry, is somehow absent from the typical Western offering in Malaysia. I skim through the menus of the many restaurants that I've visited over the years, hoping that I would at least be amused by the discovery of the word in at least one of their dishes. Always, I'm disappointed. After having missed out on it for so long, it occurred to me that I could actually buy some and use it in some of my cooking. And I'm no slouch when it comes to cooking, if my family has anything to say about it. But Gorgonzola, arguably the oldest type of blue cheese made in Italy, gets me quite apprehensive. Here is a food product that is lovingly crafted by mostly family-run businesses in the region of Gorgonzola, using centuries-old recipes to create something so iconic. Which makes me afraid of screwing things up, since so much effort has been put into creating something that many in the Western world have in ample supply. There's no denying that there is a lot of pride in the creation of such a distinctive product, which demands a great deal of respect and appreciation in its consumption. Just like how I stare in horror when some noveau rich Chinaman gulps down litres of single malt whisky, just because he can afford to buy it. That fear of desecrating such a curious, but ultimately distinctive food product, has so far kept me from actually using it in my cooking. Which got me thinking — are the chefs here also afraid of failing to do justice to such an interesting ingredient? Or is it because Malaysian diners insist that they won't pay for something that doesn't conform to their (possibly) limited idea of what Western food is all about? Sure, we in South-east Asia always talk about how the Western palate is bland and doesn't have any of the complexity that is common to our curries and sometimes insanely spicy dishes. But history clearly shows that it was these same Westerners who took the trouble to circumnavigate the globe in search of new experiences (their colonialist tendencies aside). Our Asian ancestors discovered the basis of almost everything that drives our modern existence — mathematics, astrology... heck, even basic hygiene. So why is it that we are now taking instructions on those very things from the people who learnt it from us? My theory is that we probably felt too comfortable with what we already had, and simply decided that our nasi lemak (which is fantastic) didn't need any improvements. So obviously there was no need to see if Gorgonzola cheese could actually work with some spicy sambal, right? The very idea of mixing nasi lemak with Gorgonzola cheese would understandably cause quite a few people to balk. And not all food experiments come out as rousing successes — take for example deep-fried Mars bars, which despite its wide acceptance in the US and possibly some parts of the UK, I still find disgusting. But can anyone honestly say that adding Gorgonzola cheese to a serving of nasi lemak positively and absolutely cannot work? Unless you have actually tried it, I won't believe you if you say it's horrible. And even if you have tried it, recipes are almost always about how much of something that you put in. So I guess the only way for me to find out, is to break out of my gastronomically conservative shell and take on that adventure. I could be wrong, but so was Columbus. And he ended up discovering what eventually became the most powerful country in the world at this point of time. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Wenger challenges Arsenal to show consistency after Villa rout Posted: 01 Feb 2015 05:01 PM PST
Wenger's side were at their imperious best at the Emirates Stadium yesterday as they swept to their biggest win of the season thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla and Hector Bellerin. After a spluttering start to the season, the Gunners are now level on points with fourth placed Southampton and their primary target of qualifying for the Champions League is well within reach following three successive league victories. But, with Walcott and Ozil returning to prominence after lengthy injury absences, Wenger harbours ambitions of a more lofty goal following Chelsea's 1-1 draw against second placed Manchester City on Saturday. Arsenal are 11 points behind leaders Chelsea and only six adrift of City, prompting Wenger to hint a run at the title isn't impossible if his players can continue playing with the kind of verve and energy that overwhelmed Villa. "For now let's try to be consistent and see where we are. It's too early to say what will happen because we are 11 points behind. That means they need to lose four games and we need to win four," Wenger said. "Our offensive game was good, we had some weaker periods in the game but we always looked dangerous when we got through their lines. "Defensively we were sound and it was a positive day for us. That shows as well that maybe we have found a better consistency that will be important until the end. "Lets show we can keep it going. It helps the confidence level when everybody is fit." Significant statement The ruthless manner in which Arsenal dispatched Paul Lambert's side could be a significant statement of intent coming just two weeks after an even more impressive victory at champions City. It won't do Arsenal's chances any harm if Germany midfielder Ozil and England winger Walcott continue to progress towards peak form after their injuries. "Mesut still lacks a little competitive edge but the quality of his game is exceptional. He is getting back now," Wenger said. "For Theo he needs more sharpness and physical contact, but he is a very intelligent player and the quality of his movement is good." Bolstered by a reduced injury list and with Brazilian defender Gabriel Paulista signed from Villarreal last week, Wenger is unlikely to be active on today's transfer deadline day. "I dont think I will be busy, we have done what we wanted, unless there is a huge surprise and somebody calls me. If that happens why not, but at the moment it doesn't look very likely," he said. For Villa manager Lambert, this was another chastening day in a turbulent campaign. Villa have gone six matches and 10 hours without scoring a league goal and their timid display will only add to the pressure on Lambert, whose team are three points above the relegation zone. With 11 league goals to their name this season, Villa are the lowest scorers in England, but Lambert remains at a loss to explain their profligacy, which was on display as Andi Weimann and Christian Benteke wasted chances to equalise. "I was pretty relaxed at 1-0. I thought we would get chances but the keeper made a good save from Andi's header and then we had Christian's chance. Those were big moments," Lambert said. "It was a strange game. I didn't think we deserved to lose 5-0 but that's the score so we have to take it. It's not good enough. "We do finishing and crossing in training every Friday, but when it comes onto the pitch you have to do it. "You probably can't print the things I'm feeling at the moment. We have been in this position for too long." — AFP |
| ‘American Sniper’ tops US box office for third week Posted: 01 Feb 2015 05:00 PM PST
The Oscar-nominated war film directed by Clint Eastwood and starring best actor nominee Bradley Cooper as a Navy Seal sharpshooter easily triumphed over several new releases as it closed in on a domestic total of US$250 million since opening on Jan. 16. Family film "Paddington", based on the series of classic children's books about a loveable bear in search of a home, finished in second with US$8.5 million for Friday through Yesterday. In a virtual tie, estimates showed "Paddington" sold just US$5,000 more in tickets than sci-fi time travel tale "Project Almanac," which debuted this weekend with US$8.5 million. The low-budget, teen-focused film starring Jonny Weston and Sofia Black-D'Elia cost just US$12 million to make. "Sniper"'s continued strong performance helped drive overall box office performance on Super Bowl weekend, when many Americans are focused on the final game of the pro football season. The hit film was on course to set an all-time record for an individual film on Super Bowl weekend, while total overall box office was up about 23 per cent to US$103 million from the same weekend a year ago, according to tracking firm Rentrak. "It is now the highest grossing war film ever, unadjusted for inflation," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak, noting "Sniper" had surpassed the US$216.2 million of 1998's "Saving Private Ryan". Another new release, "Black or White", debuted in fourth place with US$6.5 million. The family drama about a family custody battle, stars Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer. Costner helped finance and also produced the film. Distributor Relativity Studios said it was "confident that adults will continue to come out over the weeks ahead given the film's A- CinemaScore (rating), and growth from Friday to Saturday," noting that the film's second day take exceeded that of opening day. Rounding out the top five, the Jennifer Lopez thriller "The Boy Next Door" took in US$6.1 million, pushing its total since opening last weekend to nearly US$25 million. "American Sniper" was released by Warner Brothers, a unit of Time Warner Inc. "Paddington" was released by The Weinstein Company. Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc., distributed "Project Almanac". Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp., released "The Boy Next Door." — Reuters |
| Justin Timberlake ecstatic over baby news Posted: 01 Feb 2015 04:57 PM PST
The singer-and-actor, who turned 34 yesterday, married Jessica Biel in 2012 and rumours started circulating last year that the couple are expecting their first child. Now Justin has finally confirmed the happy news to fans, admitting they don't know the gender of their little one yet. "Thank you EVERYONE for the Bday wishes! This year, I'm getting the GREATEST GIFT EVER. CAN'T WAIT.#BoyOrGirl #YouNeverKnow #WeDontEvenKnow#WeAreTakingBets (sic)," he posted on Instagram. The star added a heart-warming picture of himself kissing his 32-year-old wife's bump. Justin's confirmation is no big news to fans, as many people have been letting the cat out of the bag for months now. InStyle magazine's Editor-in-Chief Ariel Foxman took to Instagram last year to offer her well wishes, despite no official word from the A-list couple. "Congrats @jessicabiel on your impending motherhood…Looking forward to the red carpet maternity style pix to come #tbt," he captioned a red carpet photo with Jessica. Justin's former NSYNC bandmate Joey Fatone was also too excited to not spill the beans. "He told me a while ago, and I kept my mouth shut," Joey told In Touch magazine. "But now I can talk about it!" — Cover Media |
| Jim Parsons: Cheesy and proud of it Posted: 01 Feb 2015 04:54 PM PST
The actor is best known for his role as the super-clever Sheldon Cooper in popular comedy series The Big Bang Theory. He's become synonymous with his catchphrase 'bazinga!' but in real life, his favourite word is a little more sentimental. "I'm so cheesy — the only things occurring to me are so Hallmark," he laughed to Empire magazine when quizzed on the best word in the English language. "Maybe that's what I am. I am cheesy. It's 'hope'. I think about the future in general a lot and when I do, I try not to think too hard about it. That's where hope comes in. Maybe my favourite word should be 'optimism', then." The 41-year-old is in a relationship with Todd Spiewak and he's previously referred to their love as "regular" and "boring". While he might be settled down with a boyfriend now, the star can remember the first time an onscreen character caught his attention. "Olivia Newton-John as Sandy in Grease. There's not a doubt about it," he smiled. "I cannot tell you how much I would think about her for a period of time. Obviously not in a sexual way, not only was I young but I was gay, even if I didn't know it then." He added that he still listens to many of her songs now, such as Magic and Physical. — Cover Media |
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