60 presents for 60th birthday

Jaded Director (JD) wasn’t surprised when he heard how Defensive Performer (DP) has been trying to dodge brickbats for accepting a deeply polarizing acting assignment. While DP has never really hit the big time, she has nevertheless always managed to stay in the limelight with gigs that bank on DP’s over-the-top, hit-and-miss antics. Apparently, JD and DP’s paths had crossed many years ago, just as JD’s hit international project was starting to take off. In a glitzy public sortie, DP approached JD and explained why JD should consider tapping her services for JD’s acclaimed show. But DP’s next line was very telling, JD said. Just before DP continued greeting everybody in the room as if she were Ms Congeniality, DP told JD, “But assign the controversial parts to me, OK?” “As you can see, DP thinks that the only way to get people’s attention is to shock them. She is KSP (kulang sa pansin)—then and now,” JD told Rushes. Ouch. TOP OF THE TABLOIDS This week’s top show biz news from … [Read more...] about Polarizing decision par for the course for controversial performer

Shares of Netflix ( NFLX ) jumped 7% in extended trading after the streaming giant reported it lost fewer subscribers than expected . Netflix lost about 970,000 subscribers during the second quarter, far fewer than the 2 million it had projected it would lose. It also said it expects to gain around 1 million new subscribers in the third quarter. Revenue came in lower than expected, growing 8.6% to about $8 billion. Net profit at Netflix was $1.4 billion, up 6.5% from a year earlier. The company also warned of the strengthening U.S. dollar’s impact on its international revenue, which makes up about 60% of its total revenue. Netflix said it aims to unveil its lower-cost, ad-supported tier in early 2023. That comes on the heels of news that Netflix was tapping Microsoft to be its partner on the ad-supported initiative. The service will “likely start in a handful of markets” where advertising spending is significant. Netflix shares are down over 66% so far this year. … [Read more...] about Netflix Loses Fewer Subscribers Than Expected

The number of small business owners reporting inflation as their top business problem has reached its highest level since 1979, according to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Thirty-seven percent of small business owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business, an increase of three points from June and the highest level since the fourth quarter of 1979. Overall, the NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index rose to 89.9, marking the sixth consecutive month below the 48-year average of 98. The reading was higher than estimates for a reading of 89 and slightly more than June’s reading of 89.5. Owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months increased nine points from June’s record low level to a net negative 52%. Expectations for better business conditions had deteriorated every month from January to June of this year. Thirty-two percent of owners reported that supply chain … [Read more...] about Small Business Inflation Worries Highest Since 1979

- A + A LUMUT (Aug 13): Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) is committed to completing the construction of six Royal Malaysian Navy littoral combat ships (LCS), said its chief executive officer Capt (R) Azhar Jumaat. He said five LCS were being built concurrently, with the first ship at the 60% completion stage, followed by the rest at 48%, 43%, 36% and 22% completion stages respectively. However, construction has yet to begin on the sixth ship. “Five ships [are] under construction with various stages of completion. Of the RM6 billion allocated for this project, as much as RM1.8 billion of equipment and systems have already been installed on the five ships,” he said during a media visit to the dockyard and warehouses here on Saturday (Aug 13). Azhar pointed out that most of the equipment stored in warehouses is not obsolete as claimed and is still usable for the project. He said the claims were not entirely accurate as some are in the obsolescence phase and … [Read more...] about Boustead Naval Shipyard committed to completing construction of six LCS, says CEO

- A + A SERDANG (Aug 13): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Saturday (Aug 13) that he already had a meeting with Perikatan Nasional (PN) representatives two weeks ago. He said the meeting, which took place during the final week of the Dewan Rakyat session at the Parliament building, was attended by PN secretary general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and PN treasurer Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar. "There has already been [a meeting]. Bersatu presented their views and I also presented mine...so that's about it," he said after visiting the Pahang Pavilion at the 2022 Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism (MAHA) Exhibition at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) here on Saturday. Ismail Sabri said the matter had also been announced when he officiated MAHA 2022 on Aug 6, and that it need not be raised again. The prime minister emphasised that the government was currently focused on resolving the people's issues and … [Read more...] about Meeting with PN already held, says Ismail Sabri

(CNN) The amount of new information in "The Princess" will likely depend on one's personal Royals-related media consumption, but the packaging of this stark and intimate documentary -- marking the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana's death -- serves as a sobering reminder of how the press hounded her from the moment of her engagement until her tragic death. Told entirely using clips and video, with nary a narrator's voice or talking head, the documentary essentially opens up a time capsule, propelling viewers back to the near-quarter century span from Diana and Prince Charles' fairy-tale wedding through their divorce and its aftermath. Even with the treasure trove of available material, it's a feat of editing and curation. Director Ed Perkins has smartly bookended the film with video of the paparazzi chasing her and the young Diana being peppered with questions by reporters about her upcoming marriage, meticulously filling the gap in between. As for pundit … [Read more...] about ‘The Princess’ creates a stark portrait of Diana’s life under the media microscope

By Radhika Marya, CNN Updated 1633 GMT (0033 HKT) August 13, 2022 (CNN) Some of the stars behind summer's hottest new music found themselves in hot water when listeners and disability advocates spoke out against a lyric viewed as an ableist slur. Backlash came quickly, and the artists were just as quick to respond. Lizzo took to Instagram to announce she had edited the lyric, noting, "I never want to promote derogatory language." Beyoncé's team issued a similar response within days of her album release, stating, "the word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced." The term in question, "spaz," first appeared on "Grrrls," a single released by Lizzo in June. It then appeared on "Heated," a track on Beyoncé's highly anticipated album, " Renaissance ," which dropped last month. The word, derived from "spastic," has different cultural connotations -- in the US, it's mainly a colloquialism to describe losing control. It can describe being "in the … [Read more...] about Artists have changed song lyrics before. But Beyoncé’s and Lizzo’s recent revisions are part of a new era

INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines — The total number of COVID-19 deaths in the country is nearing the 61,000 mark, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday. Latest data from the DOH tracker said that the total number of deaths is now at 60,992 — from Friday’s 60,944 — after 48 new fatalities were reported. The DOH also logged 4,679 new infections, bringing the total caseload to 3,824,758. This is the third straight day the DOH reported more than 4,500 daily infections : there were 4,533 cases on Thursday and 4,661 cases on Friday. Of the total number of COVID-19 infections, 40,324 are active cases and 3,683,942 are recoveries. /MUF Subscribe to our daily newsletter For more news about the novel coronavirus click here. What you need to know about Coronavirus. The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through … [Read more...] about PH’s COVID-19 death toll nears 61,000 mark — DOH

Punjab assembly elections: Aam Aadmi Party shared a Shah Rukh Khan video to celebrate their big lead in Punjab. The Aam Aadmi Party, riding high on its landslide victory in Punjab elections , has been sharing countless updates, reactions, speeches and even memes since the party took a massive lead as votes are being counted since morning. As the party took early leads in Punjab in the morning, AAP shared a 16-second clip of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan from his iconic movie ‘ Chak De ! India’. “AAP family right now,” the party captioned the scene where an overwhelmed Khan is seen weeping and then beaming with pride. In ‘Chak De!’ Shah Rukh played India’s women hockey team coach who led the team to victory in the World Cup with a team of 16 contentious players from different parts of the country. AAP family right now: pic.twitter.com/47Ag2qytXL — AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 10, 2022 While the Indian hockey team in ‘Chak de’ were underdogs, Arvind … [Read more...] about AAP shares Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘

Have you ever finished a meeting and wondered whether everyone there stayed awake all the way through? At least some of the time, they probably didn't. A review of the research by resume writing site LiveCareer shows that 39 percent of employees admit they have fallen asleep during work meetings . That's just one surprising fact to emerge from LiveCareer's study. Here are a few more things it learned, both from reviewing research from other sources and from conducting its own survey of 1,000 U.S. employees. Use these insights when planning your own work meetings to make them more engaging and effective for everyone. 1. Your employees spend too much time in meetings. According to research by Atlassian, the average employee attends 62 meetings every month and considers 31 of them to be a waste of time. In its survey, LiveCareer asked employees how much time they spent in meetings, rather than how many they attended. The answers were disheartening. Eighty-one percent … [Read more...] about 39 Percent of Employees Have Fallen Asleep During a Meeting