2011年6月28日星期二

Missy Elliott says Graves' disease not so grave (Reuters)

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rap star Missy Elliott on Friday insisted her battle with the thyroid malady Graves' disease has not sidelined her career, a day after it was revealed that she has the ailment.

"I was diagnosed with Graves' disease about three years ago, but it really hasn't slowed me down at all," Elliott said in a written statement.

Elliott, who gained fame in the 1990s and whose hit songs include "Get Ur Freak On" and "Work It," has won four Grammys but has not released an album since 2005's "The Cookbook."

Some media reports on Thursday speculated that the long delay since her last album could be due to the illness, first diagnosed in 2008.

The 39 year-old Elliott talks about her Graves' disease in a taped interview for the VH1 cable show "Behind the Music" set to air on June 29. She describes how it shut down her nervous system and caused her hair to fall out.

But on Friday, Elliott said her condition has recently improved.

"Under my doctor's supervision, I've been off medication for about a year and I'm completely managing the condition through diet and exercise," she said.

Patients with Graves' disease have a thyroid gland that overproduces the hormone thyroxine, which can affect a person's appearance and energy level.

The disease is incurable, but symptoms can be handled with treatment, according to medical organization the Mayo Clinic.

Elliott said on Friday that, far from being inactive, she has since her diagnosis toured Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia and written and produced Grammy-nominated songs for Monica, Keyshia Cole and Jazmine Sullivan.

Elliott is working on an album tentatively titled "Block Party," with producer and rapper Timbaland.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)


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Muhly likes to shine, but opera plumbs dark side (Reuters)

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LONDON (Reuters) – Nico Muhly, 29, says he likes shiny objects, but his first opera, opening in London on Friday and headed later to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, is about the murky world of Internet impersonation and underage sex.

"Two Boys," based on a true story, is about an Internet liaison between two teenagers, one of whom, in a failed attempt to get himself killed, adopts a female identity on the web in order to lure the other boy to stab him to death.

It's the kind of world Muhly says the younger generation, himself included, must deal with in the Internet age, though rather than happening in some lonely cubicle at an Internet cafe, his musical version is being brought to the stage by the English National Opera (ENO) with the kind of fanfare normally lavished upon Lady Gaga's latest outfit.

"There's been a lot of press about it being an Internet-themed opera and I think that's true in as much as something like (Mozart's) 'Cosi Fan Tutte' is a marriage-themed opera," Muhly, dressed in T-shirt and slacks, said following a dress rehearsal in the ENO's home theater, the Coliseum.

"I mean the Internet is a delivery system for a much more old-fashioned story about yearning and longing and things that are quite standard to the operatic themes and repertoire -- the Internet is a sort of vessel for this emotional content that's been around for quite some time."

In other words, opera, as well as classical music, is being reinvented for the Internet age, and Muhly, who was born in Vermont and is the son of a painter and a documentary filmmaker, is doing his bit.

Even though he's not yet 30, the Juilliard graduate has been at it for a while now, ever since the release of his first CD "Speaks Volumes" in 2006, but reaching a much wider audience for his highly successful "Mothertongue" of 2008.

He also wrote the soundtrack for the movie "The Reader" and his latest album, "Seeing is Believing" with the Aurora Orchestra, was released this month.

On "Mothertongue," Muhly deconstructs and samples what at first sounds like a simple folk song, until it becomes clear the lyrics are about one sister drowning another, and the hair, fingers and other parts of the dead sister being refashioned into a fiddle that can play only one mournful tune.

On the recording, Muhly uses conventional instruments, as well as the sounds of Icelandic wind and raw whale flesh slopping around in a bowl.

MUSICAL OMNIVORE

He is, he admits, a bit of a musical, as well as culinary, omnivore, his favorite London restaurant being one that specializes in offal. His musical palate runs the gamut from Elizabethan motets to Indonesian gamelan to Philip Glass minimalism to the late English composer Benjamin Britten's searing opera scores, several of which deal with forbidden or homosexual sex.

Muhly, who is gay, said he has paid homage to Britten's most pessimistic homosexual-themed opera, "Death in Venice," in "Two Boys." But he is hardly the despondent German writer of the Thomas Mann novel on which Britten's opera is based, who falls hopelessly in love with a boy staying in his hotel and deliberately contracts a fatal disease to punish himself.

Asked why so many composers are gay, Muhly's response was: "I have no idea. Every other day I vacillate between the sort of gay supremacist part of my brain and then also the sort of self-loathing part. It's difficult to know."

He's much more preoccupied with assuring that his opera makes the right impression. The interview is interrupted while the cast, including English soprano Susan Bickley, repeats the opera's closing octet, with a delighted Muhly clapping at the end and saying: "They fixed it."

"The process of putting on an opera is very difficult because the piece is my thing but it relies on so many other elements to work," he said.

"It's only as strong as the weakest piece, so if there is something wrong with the subtitles, something wrong with the video ... it's kind of my problem."

And why does someone who can write music as light, bright and jewel-like as the closing bars of "Step Team," played by the Aurora Orchestra on his new album, veer so far to the dark side?

"I like shiny objects and I think a lot of my interest in the darker possibilities of the electronic medium is that it is something that is fun to make."

His next opera, to which he is putting the finishing touches, is about a woman trying to escape a polygamist marriage. The title? "Dark Sisters."

("Two Boys" at the ENO through July 8, www.eno.org; "Seeing is Believing" is released by Decca)

(Editing by Patricia Reaney)


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Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Stop Traffic at the "Green Lantern" Premiere (Fashion Wire Daily)

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Los Angeles – Hollywood Boulevard came to a halt on Wednesday, June 15, as "Green Lantern" and its popular stars descended on Grauman's Chinese Theatre for the massive premiere. No aliens actually came in from outer space, but stars Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were front and center as their fans screamed with delight.

Both actors went the family route, as Reynolds escorted his mother to the show and Lively, looking beautiful in an embellished white Chanel Couture gown, brought her whole clan, including her mother Elaine and older sisters Robyn and Lori, who are also actresses.

Lively, who is best known as the well-dressed leading lady of "Gossip Girl," explained to reporters at an earlier press conference that being a television and film star is a fashionista's dream.

"Fashion has always been something that I've appreciated. My mom would always make clothes for me when I was growing up. She's also an amazing interior decorator, and so I look at it in the same way, that element of design, mixing different patterns and colors and textures," Lively recalled.

"Once I was on 'Gossip Girl', once I moved to New York, those two things combined just blew open the opportunities that I had to borrow the most beautiful clothes in the world. So I just feel like I'm getting to play dress up every day. It's definitely an added bonus to this job, to get to wear the beautiful clothes that I wear. The sad part is giving them back!"

Joining Lively on the extremely fashionable black carpet for the much-anticipated film, which is based on the DC Comic book series of the same name, were Angela Bassett, Karina Smirnoff, Sarah Shahi, Laura Vandervoort and Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth. Omarosa hung close to boyfriend Michael Clarke Duncan, who plays one of the aliens in the science-fiction film. Tim Robbins, Jay O. Sanders, Clancy Brown, Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgaard rounded out the cast on hand for the fun, which went long into the night at the huge party set up nearby the theater.


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Prada shares flat in Hong Kong trading debut (AP)

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HONG KONG – Shares of Italian fashion house Prada SpA were nearly flat in their Hong Kong stock market debut Friday, amid lukewarm investor interest in the city's most glamorous IPO of the year.

Prada shares gained as much as 50 cents, or 1.2 percent, to HK$40 in the first hour of trading but closed at $39.60, just 10 cents higher than the offering price.

The stock was widely expected to tank on its debut because of slumping global markets and worries from Hong Kong investors that they would have to pay Italian taxes. But while it didn't drop, it also failed to track gains in the broader Hong Kong market as the Hang Seng Index rebounded nearly 2 percent. The index is down 5.8 percent over the past three months.

Milan-based Prada sold 423.3 million shares, or a 16.5 percent stake, to raise HK$16.7 billion ($2.1 billion), in its initial public offering. The stock was priced at the low end of the offer range.

Despite the lackluster performance, Chief Executive Officer Patrizio Bertelli was upbeat at a listing ceremony.

"The very early trades seem to confirm the pricing was right. Signs are very good," he said.

Prada, which also owns the Miu-Miu, Church's and Car Shoes brands, sold 95 percent of shares to big global investors. Hong Kong individual investors got the remaining 5 percent of shares, about half the usual proportion.

Local investors were likely turned off by warnings in Prada's prospectus that shareholders could be hit with Italian capital gains tax of 12.5 percent on any profits from selling their shares as well as up to 27 percent withholding tax on dividends. Hong Kong doesn't tax capital gains or dividends and it doesn't have a dual-taxation agreement with Italy.

Investors were also cool to Prada because "there are too many IPOs happening at the same time and also the share price is generally perceived to be quite high," said Andrew Leung, an independent analyst.

A number of other companies have been planning Hong Kong listings, although several have shelved or postponed them recently amid the market's tumble.

Prada is the first Italian company to go public in Hong Kong. It follows a number of other foreign companies listing recently in Hong Kong in hopes of cashing in on China's booming economy. It's also aiming to raise awareness of its brand among China's growing number of wealthy consumers.

"We are positive that the greater China region is going to be the market of the future," Bertelli said.

Miuccia Prada, Bertelli's wife and the company's president and chief designer, was not able to make it to the listing ceremony because she was in Shanghai for a fashion show, he said.

The company was founded in 1913 by Prada's grandfather, Mario Prada, who started out selling leather bags, trunks and crystal. Today it's known for stylish leather handbags and classic dress designs that have helped it become a symbol of high fashion.

The Prada family, which owned 95 percent of the company prior to the initial public offering, will profit handsomely from the listing. About 62 percent of the shares in the IPO came from existing stock they owned, reaping them about $1.3 billion before fees. Another 24 percent came from Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo's stake, which owned 5 percent.

The remaining 14 percent comes from new shares that will raise about $270 million after fees for the company. Most of the money will be used to open more stores or expand existing ones and pay off debt.

Prada had discussed going public several times in the past, with the most recent attempt delayed after the world financial crisis in 2008 sent markets tumbling.

Swiss commodities trader Glencore International and luggage maker Samsonite International S.A. have also listed in Hong Kong this year, while luxury handbag maker Coach, which is already listed in New York, has selected Hong Kong for its second listing.


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U2 pass festival test, critics say, despite tax row (Reuters)

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PILTON, England (Reuters) – Irish rockers U2 pulled it off with their Glastonbury music festival debut, critics said on Saturday, but the fallout from a protest over the band's tax status continued to rumble.

Bono and co. raced through U2 classics like "Mysterious Ways," "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Pride" late on Friday on the main Pyramid stage, generally satisfying a crowd of tens of thousands of rain-lashed listeners.

The band admitted beforehand that the rare festival outing was a step away from the comfort zone of their record-breaking 360 Degree tour, and not everyone at Glastonbury was convinced they were the right opening night choice.

U2 had been due to play Glastonbury, one of the world's largest and most prestigious music festivals, in 2010, but an injury to Bono's back forced them to pull out.

"On unfamiliar ground, they reach for that fierce hunger and it's that sense of urgency - even a hint of nerves - rather than triumphalism that makes this such a charged and memorable set," wrote Dorian Lynskey in the Guardian.

Nick Hasted of The Independent gave a more mixed assessment.

"For all his songs' over-reaching grasps at wonder, Bono remains an uncharismatic performer, a great rock star by profession, not nature," he said.

Protesters angry about the group's decision to move operations from Ireland to the Netherlands for tax purposes raised a large inflatable with the words "U Pay Tax 2."

The balloon was forcibly removed, causing a brief scuffle, but witnesses said the incident was relatively minor and went unnoticed by most of the crowd.

COLDPLAY, BEYONCE TO COME

U2 passed the baton to Coldplay, the main act on Saturday night, although as ever there was a huge choice of alternatives from Spliff Richard and Alfred Lord Telecom performing in Bella's Field to Glasvegas on the John Peel stage.

London rapper Tinie Tempah is in action on Saturday, as are Elbow, Friendly Fires and Chemical Brothers.

Reviews landed for many of Friday's key performances that included festival favorites Radiohead and legendary blues guitarist B.B. King who still had what it took at the age of 85.

The closing headline act on Sunday night is Beyonce, following in the footsteps of her husband Jay-Z who won over the Glastonbury doubters with a rousing set in 2008.

Paul Simon appears a few hours earlier on the Pyramid stage, while Kaiser Chiefs and Queens of the Stone Age are on the Other Stage on Sunday.

The abiding memory for many of the festival's 150,000 paying customers will be the mud, caused by heavy rain this week.

Forecasters have predicted warmer, sunnier weather on Saturday and Sunday, when Glastonbury closes, but it is unlikely to be enough to dry out the shin-deep mud.

Turned into a giant camping site most years, Britain's most famous music festival is now in its fifth decade.

The event has grown from a humble gathering of 1,500 people on Michael Eavis's Worthy Farm in 1970, each paying one pound ($1.60) and receiving free milk, to a giant celebration of music costing 195 pounds for a basic ticket.

(Editing by Mark Heinrich)


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2011年6月27日星期一

Calvin Klein's High-Tech Athletic Futurism (Fashion Wire Daily)

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Milan – America, which for most Europeans traditionally represents the future, was very much at the vanguard of fashion in the latest path-breaking men's collection from the New York house of Calvin Klein, staged on the afternoon of Sunday, June 19, in Milan, Italy.

Using a whole series of canny fabrics, from shirts in circuit board in prints that looked multi-dimensional to high-tech waffle weave jackets with mega dimples, this was an eye-arresting display of artfully new men's style. A collection, which while hyper futurist, was nonetheless very much in keeping with the minimalist DNA of this American fashion institution, a further credit to Calvin Klein's menswear designer Ital Zucchelli.

"My idea was fusing hyper three-dimensional effects into modern men's clothes. That's why some looks were inflated, others pretty bumpy," Zucchelli said after the show, presented in Klein's European headquarters in south Milan.

In his half decade at the house, Zucchelli has matured into a highly assured designer, whose sense of how a runway show and collection needs to unfold is now pretty faultless. He opened with an engaging choice of technical sportswear, double-layered stretch tank-tops in stretch cottons, all worn over voluminous jogging pants in a spongy foam fabrics, like bonded cellular jersey, all cut loosely at the front and saucily around the backside. And, in a season where many designers are plenty with lots of ideas about transparency, Zucchelli's choice of see-through industrial plastic soles on his brothel-creeper style sneakers, or transparent eyeglass frames, all seemed very timely.

Moving onto the tailoring elements, the designer played brilliantly with the squishy fabric, best of all with some sleek, avant garde tuxedo jackets. Using laser technology Zucchelli cut tiny miniature "windows" in many tops and jerkins so the garments billowed as the models marched down the runway. Though the one fabric sure to set the biggest trend will likely be some sure-fired best-seller jeans made of a distressed, washed and then waxed denim that was defiantly new.

Dress shirts and Eisenhower jackets in white mesh - a big trend in Italy this season - also all looked great, as did sleek super hero smoking jackets. Composed in a light pastel color palette of citron, pale blue, putty and silvery cerulean.


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Miranda Lambert to perform on NBC's `The Voice' (AP)

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LOS ANGELES – Miranda Lambert is stepping into new husband Blake Shelton's territory.

On next Wednesday's season finale of NBC's hit singing contest, "The Voice," Lambert will perform a duet with the finalist who was on Shelton's team, Dia Frampton.

Lambert, a Grammy winner for her single "The House That Built Me," said she was "thrilled" to be part of "The Voice."

"It's been a joy watching my husband grow so attached to his team. Truthfully, I am a little jealous that I am not a coach myself. I can't wait to be a part of it," she said.

Country superstars Lambert and Shelton were married last month.

"The Voice" also features Christina Aguilera, Maroon 5's Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green as coaches to their own groups of would-be pop stars.

The other finalists competing with Frampton are Javier Colon, Beverly McClellan and Vicci Martinez. The four will perform next Tuesday, with the viewers' choice to be announced on the finale the following night. The winner gets a record contract and a $100,000 prize.

___

Online:

http://www.nbc.com/


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