Author: Ohart

This time of the year, Hollywood rolls out its big-budget films. Monsters and superheroes are framed by spectacular special effects on IMAX screens, and the industry’s big stars flex their muscles, figuratively and literally.

Most of these movies promise chills and thrills for not a small fee at the box office, and though they are not usually Oscar heavyweights, they are meant to quench theatergoers’ summer thirst for adventure. Some of the industry’s big-budget flicks look promising for their originality and good acting and for their revival of classic movie franchises.  

Filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to his iconic Alien franchise with his new Alien: Covenant. It takes place 10 years after his 2012 Alien film Prometheus, which did not fare that well among the diehard fans of the sci-fi horror franchise because it veered off the monster plot line of the genre.

Now, in Alien: Covenant, Scott returns to his fiendishly intelligent and indestructible xenophorms preying on humans on a distant planet. To the delight of Alien fans, Alien: Covenant bursts out following the same formula as the original Alien film almost 40 years ago.

Crew members of a colony ship are lured to an unknown planet after they receive a human signal. When they land, they discover Earthlike living conditions, but what looks at first like a haven soon turns into hell. The crew is decimated by the horrific acid-dripping crustaceans.

Katherine Waterston, who plays Daniels, a terraform expert and captain of the ship, resembles Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, the heroine of the original films. The designs of the creatures are as horrific and awesome as ever, and the 3-D IMAX technology adds detail to the gruesomeness of their attacks.

 

Michael Fassbender adds a Shakespearean tone with his dual role of two identical-looking “synthetics,” as artificial intelligence is called in the film. The upgraded synthetic, Walter, is part of the crew and human-friendly, while David, the first version stranded on the planet, is ruthless and destructive.

The film’s story line is meant as a prequel to Scott’s original Alien trilogy and the opening chapter to new Alien sci-fi horror installments. And though Scott sacrifices originality for form, Alien fans will probably love it, and Hollywood will likely cash in.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

After the unexpected success of the original Guardians of the Galaxy, filmmaker James Gunn makes a bigger, flashier sequel with the same cast, as the guardians are embroiled in new adventures. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 mixes action with raunchy humor and relies on the successful chemistry among the cast of bankable actors such as Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel.

The impressive visuals and 1970s rock music aim to attract moviegoers of all ages, a formula that has proven very successful for the movie industry. So far the sequel has grossed over $630 million.

 

Wonder Woman

One of the most anticipated superhero blockbusters this summer is Wonder Woman. As a woman herself, director Patty Jenkins creates a dynamic female superhero, an Amazon princess who leaves her realm to go and fight a war to end all wars.

Wonder Woman is fleshed out by actress-model Gal Gadot, who also served as a combat instructor in the Israeli army. Gadot promises to make this DC Comics superhero memorable for many sequels to come. Chris Pine plays Colonel Steve Trevor, a male sidekick, offering Wonder Woman all the adulation and adoration she deserves. If Wonder Woman is meant to show female moxie, Gadot has got it.

The Mummy

Tom Cruz headlines the revamped The Mummy and shows off some wicked stunts while chasing the resurrected malevolent creature in ancient tunnels under modern London. Sofia Butella plays a convincing mummy, a role first played by Boris Karloff in 1932. This is the first time the mummy is fleshed out by a woman. Butella plays ancient Egyptian Princess Ahmanet who wakes up from the dead and unleashes her rage on humanity because her father broke his promise to her and did not make her Pharaoh.

 

War for the Planet of the Apes

In War for the Planet of the Apes, Andrew Serkis reprises the role as simian leader Caesar in a motion capture suit (which creates a special effect that blends human and ape features), who rises against humans to avenge his kind. Woody Harrelson plays the diabolical colonel set to destroy Caesar and the apes once and for all. 

The success of this franchise, mainly due to special effects and Serkis’ fine acting, has whetted Hollywood’s appetite for another robust box office in the middle of summer.
…

This time of the year, Hollywood rolls out its big-budget films. Monsters and superheroes are framed by spectacular special effects on IMAX screens, and the industry’s big stars flex their muscles, figuratively and literally. This summer, some of the industry’s monster flicks look promising. VOA’s Penelope Poulou reports.
…

Nearly 30 years after his death, the work of American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is breaking records.

Basquiat’s “Untitled” canvas was sold Thursday at Sotheby’s for $110.5 million. The auction house said the price tag was a record for the artist and also set a record price for an American artist at auction.

Japanese billionaire Yosaku Maezawa, who bought the artwork in a 10-minute bidding war, said he plans to loan the Basquiat to museums and exhibitions before it is housed in a museum in Maezawa’s hometown of Chiba, Japan.

“I hope it brings as much joy to others as it does to me, and that this masterpiece by the 21-year-old Basquiat inspires our future generations,” Maezawa said.

The “Untitled” multimillion-dollar masterpiece depicts a skulllike head and was created with oil-stick, acrylic and spray paint on a giant canvas.

It had been part of a private collection since 1984 when it was sold for just $19,000.

“I’ve never seen so much emotions in such a painting,” said Gregorie Billault, Sotheby’s head of contemporary art. “He’s bringing something never seen before.”

Another Basquiat work, also labeled “Untitled,” sold last year of $57.3 million. Maezawa also purchased that piece.

Basquiat, who was black, was born in Brooklyn to a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican mother.

He died in 1988 from a drug overdose at the age of 27.
…

After his Oscar-nominated film “Leviathan” was deemed “anti-Russian” by Russia’s Minister of Culture, director Andrey Zvyagintsev returned to the Cannes Film Festival with an equally bleak critique of Russian society.

Zvyagintsev was to premiere his fourth film, “Loveless,” on Thursday in Cannes, where “Leviathan” won best screenplay three years ago. That film, which also won a Golden Globe, was made with Russian state funding and prompted Russia’s culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky, to refuse any further state financing for what he called Zvyagintsev’s mix of “hopelessness and existential meaninglessness.”

“Loveless” was instead made as an international co-production. The film is ostensibly about a bitterly divorcing couple (Mariana Spivak and Alexey Rozin), whose young son (Matvey Novikov) goes missing. But “Loveless” is also filled with state news reports and other sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant references that – as in “Leviathan” – suggest Russia’s politics has bankrupted its society.

“The Ministry of Culture went to great pains to emphasize how much they disliked ‘Leviathan’ and their desire to avoid the repetition of this kind of mistake in the future,” said producer Alexander Rodnyansky. “After the uproar that ‘Leviathan’ caused in Russia, I made a conscious decision to do this without any state involvement. I decided we didn’t need to embarrass them again and to do the film on our own.”

Grim and controlled, “Loveless” is initially focused on the relationships of its central characters. But Zvyagintsev steadily builds political subtext into the tale that, by the end, moves to the film’s center. State propaganda on Ukraine is heard on the radio and on TV. In one pivotal scene, the mother wears a jogging suit emblazed with “Russia” and the national colors.

Though it didn’t immediately earn the same widespread praise as “Leviathan,” London’s Daily Telegraph praised “Loveless” as “an opaque but pitiless critique on the director’s native Russia.”

Variety wrote: “Zvyagintsev can’t come right out and declare, in bright sharp colors, the full corruption of his society, but he can make a movie like ‘Leviathan,’ which took the spiritual temperature of a middle-class Russia lost in booze and betrayal, and he can make one like ‘Loveless,’ which takes an ominous, reverberating look not at the politics of Russia but at the crisis of empathy at the culture’s core.”

In one unusual exchange Wednesday, a reporter accused Zvyagintsev of proffering his own propaganda.

“Certainly not,” said Zvyagintsev. “If you saw ‘Leviathan’ then you know where I stand vis-a-vis the powers that be. It’s not supposed to be propaganda at all in this episode. You do see these scenes on TV. It’s Russian life, Russian society, Russian anguish at the end of the day. But it’s also universal, not just Russian.”

“Loveless” will be released in Russia by a unit of Sony Pictures and the Walt Disney Co. on June 1. “Leviathan” made $1.5 million at the Russian box office in 2015. Millions, however, watched a copy that leaked online.

On Wednesday, Sony Pictures Classics acquired the film for U.S. distribution.

 
…

Mel Brooks made it clear that he was not paid to appear at the premiere of the new HBO documentary “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast.”

 

“They never pay, they never pay,” he joked. “How funny I was tonight and I don’t get a penny.”

 

Brooks stole the show from fellow Hollywood legends Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke and Norman Lear, with whom he shared the stage after the screening Wednesday. The four longtime friends star in the film, which explores what makes for a vibrant, active life after age 90. Non-famous nonagenarians and centenarians are also featured, including a 101-year-old competitive runner, a 100-year-old pianist and a 98-year-old yoga teacher.

 

Producer George Shapiro (“Seinfeld”) said the cast is “truly sending a love letter to the human race.”

 

Reiner, 95, serves as host of the film, interviewing his friends Brooks and Lear, along with 95-year-old Betty White and 100-year-old Kirk Douglas.

 

All the active elders say the key is keeping yourself healthy and staying engaged with life by doing what you love. The film and its subjects are vivacious and inspiring.

 

Van Dyke is still singing and dancing – onscreen in the new “Mary Poppins,” in theaters next year, and off-screen with his wife, who’s more than four decades his junior. His advice is to “keep moving,” which is also the title of his book on aging published in 2015. Lear is working on a reboot of his 1975 series “One Day at a Time.” Reiner said writing every day gives his life purpose, adding that he just finished a book called “Too Busy to Die.”

 

“I just say eat bran,” Brooks quipped.

 

Tom Bergeron moderated the post-screening discussion with the stars. Once they got going, Brooks declared, “Tom, you’re superfluous, really. Everybody here is a self-starter.”

 

The conversation was actually one of mutual admiration. Reiner called Brooks “the funniest human being in the world” and Van Dyke “the single most talented man that ever lived.” Van Dyke described his stage-mates as “creative giants” and said Reiner has been his mentor and idol since they met.

 

When Bergeron asked if any of the men had ever considered retirement, Brooks said, “I thought of retiring Carl, but he won’t.”

 

They also talked about Donald Trump, the “2000 Year Old Man” and who had the nicest shoes (Brooks).

 

“Well, I have the most money here, except for Norman,” Brooks said. “Norman, you should dress better.”

 

“If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast” is set to debut June 5.
…

American country singer Toby Keith, known for songs such as “Whiskey Girl” and “Beer For My Horses,” is scheduled to perform in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, this weekend in an event that coincides with President Donald Trump’s first overseas visit.

 

Saudi entertainment website Lammt, which is advertising the event, says Saturday’s free concert is open to men only. It will also feature an Arabian lute player.

 

Saudi Arabia adheres to an ultraconservative interpretation of Islamic law. Alcohol is banned and unrelated men and women are segregated in public.

 

The kingdom has recently loosened the reins on entertainment, including allowing musical concerts that had been banned for the past two decades.

 

Saudi Arabia hopes to dazzle Trump with a line-up of summits and events this weekend.
…

Ashin Wirathu, the Burmese Buddhist monk known for whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment in Myanmar, is the subject of a new documentary airing at France’s renowned Cannes Film Festival, which starts Wednesday.

By filmmaker Barbet Schroeder, “The Venerable W” will appear in a special screening at one of the most prestigious cultural events in the world, marking the culmination of Wirathu’s journey from an obscure rabble-rouser to international infamy.

But his path to notoriety abroad points to questions back home about how much of a role the media have played in fueling his rise. Some believe he has been given too much of a platform for his hateful views or that coverage of his activities merits a more thoughtful approach.

Media attention for anti-Muslim views

“He has been famous because of the interviews and because of the posts in the local media,” said Thitsa Hla Htway, secretary of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Myanmar.

He urged journalists to not report his more repugnant musings and to report on more diverse issues.

“What I want to stress is that they should just stay away from him and his popularity will go down. There are many important issues in Myanmar which are more important than him,” he said.

In and out of prison

This wasn’t the feeling five years ago, when Myanmar was emerging from military rule and grappling with ascendant Buddhist nationalist forces in the form of the 969 movement and Ma Ba Tha, the Committee to Protect Race and Religion.

Sentenced to prison for 25 years in 2003 for inciting violence, Wirathu was released in an amnesty in 2012, the same year that saw the first of several deadly riots to plague the country’s transition to democracy from nearly five decades of military rule.

‘Time magazine’ interview

Though Myanmar has long struggled to contain religious enmity, the story was not often heard outside of the country due to its isolation. That changed with a 2013 TIME magazine issue that put Wirathu on the cover and sought to explain the man’s connection to the mayhem.

The initial coverage was revealing, but over the years, Wirathu was interviewed by countless journalists, including the author of this article. Doubt crept into the worthiness of the enterprise for many journalists.

Social media star

But his following on social media is enormous, his posts can be inflammatory, and the fact that he has not faced strong pushback implies he has connections.

Thiha Saw, the director of the Myanmar Journalism Institute, said he credits Wirathu’s rise more to the explosion of internet access that has occurred in recent years. He added that mainstream media outlets in Myanmar have been cautious about not giving Wirathu an unnecessary amount of exposure.

Supported military

But his level of influence remains an open question. He supported the military-backed ruling party in a 2015 election contest against Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, which won easily. This past March, Wirathu was hit with a ban on giving sermons for one year.

Even so, he was allowed to travel to a part of northern Rakhine State this month that has been largely closed off to observers since Rohingya militants attacked border posts in October, killing nine and setting off a crackdown that has resulted in accusations of possible crimes against humanity.

British journalist Oliver Slow, the chief of staff for the weekly magazine Frontier Myanmar, said in his personal opinion there needs to be a mix of scrutiny and restraint in the reporting.

Journalists want more scrutiny of Wirathu

“I think obviously he [Wirathu] needs to be heavily scrutinized. His group and the people behind him have the potential to cause massive issues, so I think it’s important to be reporting on him and what they are doing,” Slow said. “But I think we pretty much know all his views now, they’ve been aired for the past four or five years. His views on Muslims, his views on religion, have been so well aired, I just don’t really see any benefit any more of interviewing him.”

Matthew Smith, executive director of the NGO Fortify Rights, said in an email he isn’t persuaded by arguments the media has disproportionately fueled Wirathu’s rise to power, even if Wirathu has benefited from the attention.

“Wirathu is a populist demagogue with a considerable following and powerful connections behind the scenes,” Smith said. “But he and his followers have unarguably used international media attention to their advantage, to build their prominence and advance nationalist and racist narratives.”

Smith wants more investigative coverage of Wirathu.

“We see the occasional profile piece and don’t find those terribly helpful. Most foreign readers, particularly in the West, regard Buddhism as a tranquil religion of peace, so editors have endless fodder in stories of an extremist monk who preaches hatred.”

Schroeder, the filmmaker, did not immediately respond to a request for an interview sent through his production company.

 
…

The 70th Cannes Film Festival is opening Wednesday under sunny Cote d’Azur skies, heavy security and widespread unease in the movie industry.

 

Security was greater than ever at the French festival, with stepped up efforts to restrict access and even an anti-drone system. France remains under a state of emergency since the November 2015 Paris attacks. This is also the first festival held since the nearby Nice attack last year that killed 86 people.

 

Festival organizers have said everything has been done to maintain a balance of safety and the celebratory atmosphere of the world’s most prestigious film festival.

 

This year’s festival has its own anxieties. Television, virtual reality and Netflix are a larger presence than ever before in the program.

 

Arnaud Desplechin’s “Ismael’s Ghosts” will open the festival Wednesday.
…

Once renowned in Asia for its durability and versatility, traditional Korean paper called Hanji is now produced only in a handful of rural paper mills.

But Korean-American artist Aimee Lee is dedicated to carrying on the 2,000-year old tradition through her artwork and teaching.  And some of the artwork she produces from the famously durable paper are wearable.

“The very first dress that I made out of Hanji was a western dress, but, as I was making more dresses, I thought just in the way that I explored Korean paper… I thought it would be wonderful to explore Korean dresses.”

The dress and other artwork by Lee created with Hanji, traditional Korean paper, are on display in a group exhibition during May at the Korean Cultural Center in Washington to mark Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month.

“Delicacy and strength is what I found in Korean paper,” says Jeanne Drewes, chief of binding and collections care at the Library of Congress. To Drewes, what the exhibit shows is that paper and fabric can be almost interchangeable. “That comes out in this exhibit.  This exhibit is so wonderful.”

Born in New York, Lee’s dedication to Hanji started in 2008 when she went to Korea with a U.S. Fulbright grant to research the disappearing traditional paper arts.   She apprenticed at a papermill in a remote village. It was run by a fourth-generation family whose patriarch is the Korean National Intangible Cultural Property holder of Hanji making. National intangible property is traditional knowledge that the South Korean government has designated for preservation. And intangible cultural property holders are masters of their crafts.

Lee turned what she learned about paper-making in Korea into a video which can be viewed here.

US Hanji studio

“When I first came back from Korea, I was so, so committed to sharing everything that I learned because it was so compelling, so interesting,” Lee says. “What I like about Hanji is that it’s so versatile.  So you can do so many things. I thought the world really needed to know.”

Working with the Morgan Conservatory, a non-profit arts center in Cleveland, Ohio, Lee built the first U.S. Hanji studio in 2010 to make and share the craft of Korean papermaking.   Each fall, mulberry trees whose inner bark is used to make Hanji, are harvested from the conservatory’s garden.

“I gather raw plant material from outside and then have to go through the process of stripping, sorting the parts you need and cooking it in special solutions and rinsing it, beating it and then making paper.  And then making art from that.  So it is a whole range from scratch.”

The self-appointed Hanji ambassador lectures or teaches workshops at art museums and universities across the country.  Lee’s passion for the paper led to her award-winning book: Hanji Unfurled: One Journey into Korean Papermaking.

​

“Actually more people not of Korean descent take my workshops than people of Korean descent.  I think people that come are very open-minded. It is a way to learn about other cultures in a way that is very hands-on.”

Lee also uses natural dyes she makes from kitchen scraps and flowers.  Her artwork ranges from traditional objects to more contemporary woven paper objects. Her series of artists books reside in library collections including Yale University library.

Lee plans to continue making Hanji indefinitely. She says, “I still feel like there are so much I can do and learn.”
…

Longtime late-night host David Letterman has been honored with the nation’s top prize for comedy.

The Kennedy Center announced Tuesday that the 70-year-old Letterman is this year’s recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He is the 20th humorist to receive the annual prize, which began in 1998. Last fall, he delivered a warm tribute on stage at the Kennedy Center as his frequent guest, Bill Murray, accepted the award.

Letterman hosted more than 6,000 episodes of late-night television, starting in 1982 with NBC’s “Late Night with David Letterman.” He moved to CBS in 1993 and hosted “The Late Show” until his retirement two years ago.

Letterman’s irascible, independent streak inspired fierce loyalty from fans and critics.
…

Despite his jokes that he’ll never get asked back, Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the Oscars once more. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday said Kimmel will return for the 90th Oscars with producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd, the team behind this year’s ceremony.

 

Ratings for the 89th Oscars this past February were the lowest since 2008 with 32.9 million viewers tuning in, even with the drama of the envelope gaffe in which Faye Dunaway, reading an incorrect card, announced “La La Land” as the best picture winner. The snafu was corrected on stage and “Moonlight” was given the award.

 

The 90th Oscars will be held on March 4, 2018 in Los Angeles and broadcast live on ABC.

 
…

Rapper Travis Scott’s recent arrest after a concert in Arkansas is not his first on accusations of encouraging fans to join him on stage.

Police in Rogers say the Houston-born musician, whose real name is Jacques Webster, was arrested Saturday night on charges of inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and endangering the welfare of a minor.

Police say Webster encouraged fans to bypass security and rush the stage, leaving a security guard, a police officer and several others injured.

The Associated Press has sought comment from Webster’s representatives.

Webster was sentenced to one year of court supervision after pleading guilty to reckless conduct charges stemming from a 2015 incident in Chicago at the Lollapalooza music festival. Chicago officials said Webster encouraged fans to vault security barricades. No one was injured.
…

Beyonce dominated last year’s BET Awards with “Lemonade,” but there’s more juice in her cup.

The pop star is nominated for seven awards at the 2017 BET Awards, the network told The Associated Press on Monday. The show will take place June 25 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Bruno Mars follows Beyonce with five nominations.

Beyonce, who won video of the year with “Formation” last year, is nominated for the top prize again with “Sorry.” Her competition includes her sister Solange (“Cranes In the Sky”); Mars’ playful “24K Magic”; Migos’ No. 1 hit “Bad and Boujee”; and Big Sean’s anthemic “Bounce Back.”

Beyonce and Solange — who has four nominations — will go head-to-head for best female R&B/pop artist, along with Rihanna, Mary J. Blige and Kehlani. Beyonce’s other nominations include album of the year for “Lemonade,” the viewer’s choice award and video director of the year. She’s nominated twice for best collaboration with the songs “Freedom” (with Kendrick Lamar) and “Shining” (shared with Jay Z and DJ Khaled).

The winners in the 19 categories, including film and sports awards, will be selected by BET’s Voting Academy, comprised of entertainment professionals and fans.

Mars, whose latest album was inspired by `90s R&B, is also nominated for best male R&B/pop artist, album of the year, the viewer’s choice award and video director of the year.

Chance the Rapper, who scored four nominations and won three Grammys this year, will battle Lamar, Drake, J. Cole, Future and Big Sean for best male hip-hop artist. Nicki Minaj will compete with rival Remy Ma for best female hip-hop artist, an award Minaj has won since 2010.

Hip-hop trio Migos also scored four nominations.
…

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a behemoth of culture and wealth, is rebounding from more than a year of internal turmoil and financial problems.

 

As part of its recovery efforts, the museum is considering a mandatory admissions fee for visitors from outside New York state. The set fee, possibly $25 for adults, would be the first in the venerable museum’s 147-year history.

 

Facing a $15 million operating deficit, the Met filed a formal proposal with New York City this month to charge visitors who don’t live in the state a set admission, instead of the current voluntary contribution.

 

“We’ve had financial challenges — significant ones — over the last couple of years that have culminated over the past year, and a rather significant need to reorganize the institution and to retrench our finances,” said Daniel Weiss, the museum’s president.

 

About 100 staff positions have been eliminated through buyouts and layoffs. The number of special exhibits staged each year is being slashed from 55 to about 40. A $600 million new wing that had been planned, but not fully financed, is postponed indefinitely. Instead, the Met will be focusing on more pressing capital needs, Weiss said, including spending as much as $100 million to replace a block-long “ocean of bad skylights” built in the 1930s over art galleries.

 

Met director and chief executive Thomas Campbell stunned the art world in February by announcing his resignation, amid criticism of the museum’s financial management.

 

“It was clear we were on a path that was not sustainable, and if we didn’t deal with it, it was going to get worse in a hurry,” said Weiss, who took the reins from Campbell and is now the interim CEO.

 

He blamed the museum’s financial problems on “a perfect storm” of money-sucking factors: too many costly special exhibitions; restaurants and gift shops where revenues declined; and public programming that was overly ambitious.

 

Revenue from admissions and membership also had slipped.

 

But make no mistake, there’s no immediate danger to the museum, which has endowments of $3 billion.

 

Admissions fees might help ease the current budget deficit, which was about 5 percent of the $315 million in operating costs in 2016.

 

“The deficit is not high compared to the total budget, but remember, these numbers are not just about the money: Donors want to back a winning story, and any indication that it’s not makes them skittish,” said Andrew Taylor, an arts management expert at Washington-based American University.

 

The details of how the fees would work are the subject of talks with the city, which gives the museum $27 million in subsidies annually. The city also owns the museum site in Central Park and has approval rights for entrance policies.

 

An entrance fee of $25 would be in line with admissions to other New York art institutions, from the MoMA ($25) and the Guggenheim ($25) to the Whitney ($22).

 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio gave some generalized support to the idea, saying it was “fair” for non-state residents to pay something. “I’m a big fan of Russian oligarchs paying more to get into the Met,” the mayor joked recently.

 

Of the record 7 million visitors in 2016, 67 percent came from outside New York state and 39 percent of the total from abroad.

 

In recent years, the museum was targeted by a class-action lawsuit that challenged the Met’s “recommended”  $25 admission and accused the institution of obscuring the fact that people could enter for less. The case was settled last year when the Met agreed to say the price is only “suggested,” with signs telling visitors that “The amount you pay is up to you.”

 

Visitors have split on whether an entrance fee should be mandatory for some.

 

Angeleka Kunath, 64, visiting from Hamburg, Germany, said she feels foreigners should pay and would gladly do so to keep the Met running at its best.

 

“The price is worth it. Art is so important for our lives and humanity; it gives us inspiration it brings people together,” she said.

 

Ken Wilson, 60, who was visiting from Greensboro, North Carolina, said he didn’t think anyone would have a problem paying to get in.

 

“It’s amazing and educational,” he said. But he said it was unfair that New Yorkers would get a discount. And with the search for its new director underway, the museum could maybe discuss cutting the high six-figure salaries of its top executives.

 
…

Veteran Irish rock band U2 is the top-selling live music act in the United States for summer 2017, ticket seller StubHub said on Sunday, outpacing pop acts such as Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga with a concert tour celebrating its seminal “Joshua Tree” album.

U2’s 13-stop “The Joshua Tree Tour 2017” topped the list of most popular live music acts in the United States between Memorial Day (May 29) and Labor Day (September 4). British singer Sheeran’s U.S. leg of his “divide” tour came in at No. 2 with 32 shows over the summer.

Unlike most artists who tour in support of new albums, U2’s concert celebrates the 30th anniversary of its 1987 “The Joshua Tree” album, with lyrics that drew from the band’s travels across America and social commentary.

U2 will kick off its U.S. Joshua Tree tour on Sunday at Seattle’s 68,000-capacity CenturyLink Field, and will play shows across the country including California, Texas and Florida before heading to Europe.

Sheeran’s tour will be at venues averaging a capacity of 20,000 while U2’s venues are upwards of 65,000 seats.

StubHub’s top-10 list did not include tickets sold for shows in Canada.

StubHub, which did not release the number of tickets sold, said U2 had outsold Sheeran by 65 percent and outsold last year’s top summer act, British singer Adele, by 15 percent.

Tickets for U2 have averaged around $246, while average ticket prices for Sheeran have been about $231, the ticket seller said, adding that U2’s June 3 Chicago date was the most in-demand concert of the summer.

StubHub’s top-10 acts of the summer saw an equal division of veteran artists and current pop and hip-hop acts, with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Metallica, Tool and Roger Waters facing off Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar and Justin Bieber.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
…

Renee Fleming sang the famous “Ja, ja” one last time, acknowledging the ascendancy of youth, and made a graceful exit from the stage.

 

The 58-year-old soprano, the most well-known American classical singer, performed the Marschallin in Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier” for the final time Saturday in what may have been her farewell to staged standard repertoire.

 

Confetti fell from the top of the Metropolitan Opera and bouquets were thrown from the crowd during a nine-minute ovation that followed the performance on the final day of the company’s 2016-17 season. Fleming plans to concentrate her appearances on concerts and will consider singing in new operas. 

 

Fleming first sang the Marschallin, an aristocrat who accurately predicts her lover will leave her for a younger woman, at the Houston Grand Opera in 1995. Saturday was her 70th staged performance of the role, which included productions in San Francisco, London, Paris, Zurich, Baden-Baden and Munich, and with the Met on tour in Japan. She sang additional concert versions in Boston, Washington, and Paris.

 

“I feel satiated,” she said outside her dressing room. “It’s time — time to say goodbye.”

 

She was 36 for her first Marschallin, four years older than the age of the character created by composer Richard Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal for the opera, which premiered in 1911.

 

“Nothing seems like 22 years. Where did it go?” Fleming said. 

 

The Marschallin is one of her most acclaimed roles and it seemed an apropos choice. She wistfully sings during her first act monologue: “Time is a strange thing. While one is living one’s life away, it is absolutely nothing. Then, suddenly, one is aware of nothing else.”

 

“This fear of aging, it touches everybody’s heart,” Fleming said after the performance.
…

The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was the scene of the final of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, the annual europop song fest that was expected to garner a television audience of some 200 million.
…

Portugal’s Salvador Sobral won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with a gentle romantic ballad that challenged the event’s decades-long reputation for cheesy, glittery excess.

Sobral sang his Amar Pelos Dois (Love For Both) in a high, clear tenor accompanied by quiet strings and a piano. Unlike the 25 other competitors who performed on a wide stage backed by flashing lights, bursts of flames and other effects, Sobral sang from a small elevated circle in the middle of the crowd, an intimate contrast to others’ bombast.

“Music is not fireworks, music is feeling,” he said while accepting the award.

Runner-up Kristian Kostov of Bulgaria wasn’t short on feeling — his power-ballad “Beautiful Mess” was awash in melodrama, the singer appearing almost wrung out by romantic turmoil.

Moldova’s Sunstroke Project finished a surprising third, with a bouncy, jazzy song called “Hey Mama”‘ that featured a clever stage routine in which the female backup singers hid their microphones in bridal bouquets.

Francesco Gabbani of Italy had led bookmakers’ tallies for most of the days leading up to the final, but he ended up placing sixth even though his act seemed the epitome of Eurovision’s cheerfully tacky aesthetics — singing a driving number about spirituality while accompanied by someone in a gorilla suit.

Eurovision, in its 62nd year, is aimed at apolitical entertainment. But the sweet intentions were soured this year when Russia’s participation was scuttled by host Ukraine over the two nations’ diplomatic and military conflict.

Russia is one of Eurovision’s heavy hitters, tied with Sweden for the most top-five finishes this century. But this year’s Russian entrant, Yuliya Samoylova, was blocked from competing by Ukraine because she had toured in Crimea after Russia’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula.

In response, Russia’s state-owned Channel 1 television is refusing to broadcast the contest, replacing Saturday’s final with a screening of the film “Alien.”

The Moscow-Kyiv split is a headache for Eurovision’s producer, the European Broadcasting Union, which strives mightily to keep pop and politics separate. Overtly political flags and banners are banned, and lyrics are monitored for provocative content.

In 2009, the EBU nixed the Georgian entry “We Don’t Wanna Put In,” a dig at Russian President Vladimir Putin. The union, however, has been criticized for not barring “1944” last year, allowing Russia-Ukraine tensions to fester.

The acrimony is ironic, since Eurovision was founded in 1956 to bring the recently warring countries of Europe together. It launched a year before the foundation of the European Economic Community, forerunner of the European Union.

From its launch with seven countries, Eurovision has grown to include more than 40, including non-European nations such as Israel and — somewhat controversially — far-off Australia.

The contest helped launch the careers of Sweden’s ABBA — victors in 1974 with “Waterloo” — Canada’s Celine Dion, who won for Switzerland in 1988, and Irish high-steppers Riverdance, the halftime entertainment in 1994.
…

The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, is bracing to host the finale of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, the annual europop song fest that is expected to garner a television audience of some 200 million.
…

A roundup of some of the most popular, but completely untrue, headlines of the week. None of these stories are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. AP checked these out; here are the real facts:

 

NOT REAL: U.S. Department of State suspends New York Times license 

THE FACTS: The account claiming the State Department suspended the newspaper’s operational permit after it criticized Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is “completely false,” Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha says. There is no permit required for U.S. news organizations and there is no issue with the newspaper’s foreign press credentials, she said. A website made up to look like a CNN outlet says in a story published last month that the State Department accused The Times of “breaking communication code of ethics” in a matter that could cause diplomatic challenges between the two countries.

 

NOT REAL: Sarah Palin out of her coma, able to identify her attackers

 

THE FACTS: More than half a dozen sites have run the same verbatim account of a hit-and-run accident on California’s Pacific Coast Highway involving the former Alaska governor, followed up by stories alleging Palin emerged from her coma to identify her assailants. A spokesman for Palin tells the AP the reports are “as fake as fake can be.” The sites report that the accident happened April 28, when Palin’s Twitter and Facebook accounts were active. The 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate has been a target of hoax articles in the past.

 

NOT REAL: Hobby Lobby just announced plan to close ALL stores

 

THE FACTS: The arts and crafts retail chain has 700-plus stores and says it’s adding 60 more in 2017. A story published by Daily Info News, The Washington Feed and other outlets said the chain’s CEO said it could go out of business if it pays fines for violating a mandate under the Affordable Care Act to provide employees access to emergency contraception. Hobby Lobby won an exemption from the law based on religious preferences in a 2014 Supreme Court decision.

 

NOT REAL: 2 moms, 5 kids killed in car crash in (insert place here)

 

THE FACTS: Multiple websites have appropriated many details from a true account of a June 2016 minivan accident in Southern California that killed two mothers and four children while two fathers survived. The stories circulating with dozens of different headlines change the U.S. county where it occurred, and in some cases add the fathers’ names and varying ages of the children.

 

NOT REAL: Robertson: David Bowie is not dead, he was kidnapped by demons summoned by rock music

 

THE FACTS: This account first published by politicops.com last year and recently recycled by admitted hoax site uspoln.com began with an accurate answer by “700 Club” host Pat Robertson to a teenager’s written question on whether it was OK to listen to rock music. Robertson replied that some rock wasn’t “all that bad,” but some “is just evil.” A spokesman for Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network tells the AP that the evangelist made no mention of Bowie, who died Jan. 10, 2016. 
…

Across the U.S., there are stores where people can play a musical instrument even if they have no intention of buying it. VOA’s Yahya Albarzinji spoke with music enthusiasts at one such store in the Washington suburb of Fairfax, Virginia.
…

Five of the contestants vying for the Miss USA title have a message to immigrant girls and women watching the pageant this weekend: Set goals, work hard and don’t stay in the shadows.

The contestants know what they are talking about, as they were all born in other countries and immigrated to the U.S. at young ages as their families pursued their versions of the American Dream. The women are now all U.S. citizens.

“I want them to see that anything is possible if you work hard,” said Linette De Los Santos, who immigrated with her family from the Dominican Republic when she was 5 years old. “As Miss USA, I would love to be able to be that inspiration for our immigrant community. If I would have stopped following my dreams and working hard toward what I wanted, I wouldn’t be sitting here as Miss Florida USA or in law school ready to become an immigration attorney.”

The competition airs Sunday from Las Vegas.

De Los Santos, Miss North Dakota Raquel Wellentin, Miss Hawaii Julie Kuo, Miss Connecticut Olga Litvinenko and Miss New Jersey Chhavi Verg spoke to The Associated Press about the opportunities and challenges they’ve faced as immigrants. 

Their remarks stand in stark contrast to the scandal that enveloped the pageant in 2015, when part owner and now President Donald Trump offended Hispanics when he made anti-immigrant remarks in announcing his bid for the White House. Trump co-owned The Miss Universe Organization with NBCUniversal, but the network and the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision quickly cut ties with him, refusing to air the show. Trump sued both networks, eventually settling and selling off the entire pageant to talent management company WME/IMG.

Miss North Dakota Raquel Wellentin

Wellentin and her family left the Philippines over safety fears when she was 2 years old. Their first taste of American life was in the small community of Enderlin, North Dakota, where she and her siblings felt isolated.

“Nobody wanted to talk to me at all. I came home one day and I asked my dad ‘Why am I so different? Why isn’t anyone talking to me?”‘ Wellentin said. “My dad told me, ‘You know, you are not different. You are very unique yourself. You have to be strong and really accept this negativity from other people and have it motivate you.’ I still keep that in my mind.”

Their situation improved when they moved to the larger and more diverse Fargo, North Dakota.

Wellentin, 24, who wants to be a middle school teacher after she completes a student-teaching requirement, said her experiences have taught her to not take no for an answer.

“I want to tell people that they need to make sure that they should not allow anyone to tell them that they can’t do something because only you can determine your future,” she said.

Miss Connecticut Olga Litvinenko

Like thousands of immigrants, Litvinenko moved to the U.S. with her family after her mother won the lottery for a green card. She was 3 years old when they relocated from Ukraine a few years after the Soviet Union collapsed.

The 27-year-old business owner ventured into pageants when she could no longer play basketball after injuring a foot in high school. She won Miss Connecticut Teen on her first try, but had to compete five times to reach the Miss USA competition. Her persistence, Litvinenko said, shows that every effort counts.

“I want to showcase that no matter who you are, no matter what your background is, your size or what you have done in the past, through hard work and discipline, through perseverance and determination, you really can achieve what you put your heart toward.”
…

A rare Harry Potter prequel handwritten by author J.K. Rowling on a postcard was stolen during a burglary in central England, police said Friday as they appealed for help from fans of the wizard across the world.

The 800-word story, set three years before Harry Potter is born and which sold for 25,000 pounds ($32,152) at a charity auction in 2008, was stolen from a property in Birmingham between April 13-24.

Appeal to Potter fans

“Please don’t buy this if you’re offered it,” Rowling wrote on Twitter. “Originally auctioned for @englishpen, the owner supported writers’ freedoms by bidding for it.”

The proceeds of the auction were donated to English PEN, an organization that champions freedom of expression, and to Dyslexia Action.

“The only people who will buy this unique piece are true Harry Potter fans. We are appealing to anyone who sees, or is offered this item for sale, to contact police,” said Constable Paul Jauncey from West Midlands Police.

Untitled prequel

Handwritten over two sides of an A5 postcard, the untitled prequel features the characters Sirius Black and Harry’s father, James. It opens with a youthful Sirius and James cornered by two irate policemen at the end of a high-speed motorcycle chase.

After an exchange of words with the policemen, the two teenagers make their escape using a touch of magic. The card concludes with the words “From the prequel I am not working on — but that was fun!”

More than 450 million copies of the seven original Harry Potter books have been sold worldwide in 79 languages. The movie franchise has grossed more than $7 billion worldwide.
…

The sympathy cards came from places like Germany and Italy, where Steven Holcomb was their bobsled enemy. Mourners flew in from all across the country. Generations of Olympians packed a ballroom, sharing in grief.

 

They wept. They hugged. They laughed.

 

“Steven Holcomb was like no one else,” Olympic teammate Steven Langton said. “He was one of the finest to wear the red, white and blue.”

 

Sentiments like those came for hours Thursday in the tiny Olympic town of Lake Placid, New York, when friends and family gathered to celebrate the life of America’s most successful bobsled driver. The 37-year-old Holcomb was found dead in his sleep Saturday at the Olympic Training Center, the dorm where not only many of his teammates live but where the offices for USA Bobsled and Skeleton are housed.

 

“Steve was, and always will be, our champion,” said Tony Carlino, who manages the Mount Van Hoevenberg track where Holcomb dominated.

 

The celebration of Holcomb’s life was supposed to last an hour.

 

That proved impossible. Put simply, there was much to celebrate — including the 2010 Olympic four-man gold medal, which ended a 62-year drought for the U.S. in bobsled’s signature race, and a pair of bronze medals from the 2014 Sochi Games.

 

“I have no words to describe my sadness,” said International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation President Ivo Ferriani, who called Holcomb a brother in a recorded message. “The sadness is indescribable. We need to remember Stevie for what he gave to us all. … Stevie, you will stay always with us. I will never forget you, my friend.”

 

For the public memorial, hundreds of people packed a ballroom at a conference center attached the same building where Lake Placid’s signature moment — the “Miracle on Ice” from the 1980 Winter Olympics — happened. Photos of Holcomb played on a loop on the electronic message board outside the arena. Local police officers shooed people away from nearby parking meters near the building, saying no one needed to worry about such things on this day.

 

“Steve’s one of the most passionate, humble souls I’ve ever known,” said a teary USA Bobsled head coach Brian Shimer, who considered Holcomb the younger brother he never had. “He looked you in the eyes. He engaged you. And he did that with every person who was drawn to him by his charm … and by his greatness.”

The public ceremony was preceded by a private, intimate one for family, teammates and close friends atop the track at Mount Van Hoevenberg, not far from the start line and overlooking the magnificent Adirondack Mountains in the distance. His sleds were displayed on either side of the medal podium, the same one he stood atop of plenty of times in his career.

The U.S. flag — the colors he wore as an Eagle Scout, as a member of the Utah Army National Guard, and as a bobsledder — was at half-staff, rippling in the crisp breeze. Speakers read passages from Winnie The Pooh, from Dr. Seuss, from the Bible. They told stories of how he was the ultimate teammate. They told stories of how he was the ultimate jokester.

 

His mother, Jean Anne, wore Holcomb’s gold medal from the Vancouver Games. His father, Steve, wore one of the bronze medals from the Sochi Games. His sisters both spoke, one of them wearing his other Olympic bronze from Sochi. Many teammates wore or carried “Superman” shirts, like Holcomb used to wear under his speed suit on race days.

 

“He was a boy when he came here,” said Holcomb’s father, also named Steve, who thanked Lake Placid for playing such a role in his son’s life. “And he was a man when he left.”

 

USA Bobsled and Skeleton CEO Darrin Steele has lost count of how many times in recent days he’s been asked about how the team will go on — especially with the 2018 Pyeongchang Games looming in nine months — without Holcomb.

 

He doesn’t have an answer laden with specifics yet.

 

“As tough as it is, we have to,” Steele said, as he struggled to get the words out. “We have to continue his legacy and continue the work that he worked so hard to start. We owe it to him. We will push forward. We will find success again. He’s not the pillar of the organization any longer, but we are where we are because of Steven Holcomb.”
…

As national parks traveler Mikah Meyer continued exploring the numerous national park sites within the vast state of Texas, he’s been overwhelmed by the beauty of Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River.

Located in southwestern Texas, on the U.S. border with Mexico, the huge park is larger than Hong Kong. It’s 80 kilometers from east to west, and 200 kilometers of the Rio Grande River form its southern boundary.

Big Bend – named after a big bend in the river – was established as a national park in 1944, preserving the largest tracts of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States. Mikah spent several packed days exploring the vast terrain.

Magical landscape

“I didn’t have a lot of expectations going in, but it’s just kind of this magical landscape,” Mikah observed, one that he learned has evolved greatly over time.​

“Over the past two centuries, largely due to a lot of human influence, it used to be a very different climate with grass as high as a horse’s head. And essentially through ranching, through farming, through human interaction, we as humans have taken away a lot of the natural, green growth.”

But despite its harsh desert environment, the park boasts a spectacular landscape that’s home to more than 1,200 species of plants (including 60 types of cactus), 450 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles and 75 species of mammals.

The variety of life is largely due to the diverse ecology and changes in elevation, from the dry, hot desert, to the cool mountains, and the fertile river valley.

Flirting with fossils

Mikah’s first stop was the “incredible dinosaur exhibit” at the newly opened Fossil Discovery Exhibit.

“They had these amazingly huge fossils and did a really top-notch job at showing you the history of the area that is now Big Bend National Park that goes back a hundred million years,” he said.

“This area used to be a shallow ocean, so there were massive gators, large fish with huge teeth that were big enough to eat sharks, and they have fossils of those fish that existed in this area that’s now a desert.”

Also on display at the site is “an insane amount of dinosaur bones,” Mikah added, including a massive T-Rex skeleton and one of the largest flying reptile skeletons in the world.

“It was incredible!” Mikah marveled. “I mean, what little kid doesn’t love dinosaurs and doesn’t geek out and squeal at seeing a giant T-rex skeleton? It really puts it in perspective when you can sit in a giant alligator or T-Rex mouth that they have right on the ground at this exhibit.”

Border beauty

Visitors to Big Bend can also enjoy the many recreational opportunities on and around the Rio Grande, which forms the 1600 kilometer long international boundary between Mexico and the United States.

Mikah immersed himself in nature at Rio Grande Village, the largest campground in the park, on the banks of the Rio Grande.

“The campground is in a little bend of Big Bend National Park that dips down, so basically if I look to my left or to my right I’m looking at Mexico, but straight in front of the United States.”

“There is a little nature trail hike which is right by the campgrounds which is gorgeous and gives you stunning views of the Rio Grande River,” Mikah said.

On day two of his visit, Mikah decided to cross the river into Mexico for lunch in the small border town of Boquillas in the Mexican state of Coahuila. “It’s shallow enough that it only goes up to your knees right now,” he observed as he waded across the warm water.

Once he crossed into Mexico, Mikah headed to town — about a kilometer and a half away down a dusty path — on a horse. It trotted along at a leisurely pace, allowing Mikah to soak up the beauty of the stark desert around him. After checking in with Mexican customs, he stopped for a tasty lunch of tacos and cold drinks at Jose Falcon’s, one of the town’s two restaurants.

While lunch was satisfying, he said the highlight of his little adventure was the sweeping vista around him. “You’re on this horse, so you’re a little higher than you get to be normally, and there’s mountains everywhere and desert trees.”

More to come…

Mikah has many more adventures in Big Bend National Park to share with VOA. They include stops at some of the most remote areas of the park, a surprising canoe ride on the Rio Grande, a visit to the historic hot springs and an exhilarating hike up to the highest peak of Chisos Mountains.  

In the meantime the young traveler, who hopes to visit all 400 plus sites within the U.S. National Park Service, invites you to learn more about his journey across the American southwest by visiting his website, Facebook and Instagram.
…

Sprinkle the sequins, spark up the disco lights and get ready for battle — it’s time for the Eurovision Song Contest , a celebration of kitsch and cheesy pop with an undercurrent of politics and patriotism. More than a singing contest, it’s diplomacy in dancing shoes.

This week musical acts from more than 40 countries are taking the stage in Kyiv to vie for the Eurovision crown, watched by some 200 million television viewers. The 62nd annual contest has clean-cut crooners, electro beats, yodeling Romanians and even a dancing gorilla. But there is also a big absence: Russia, whose participation has been scuttled by the country’s diplomatic and military conflict with neighbor Ukraine.

 

Russia is one of Eurovision’s heavy hitters, tied with Sweden for the most top-five finishes this century. But this year’s Russian entrant, Yuliya Samoylova, was blocked by host Ukraine because she had toured in Crimea after Russia’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula.

 

In response, Russia’s state-owned Channel 1 television is refusing to broadcast the contest, replacing Saturday’s final with a screening of the film “Alien.”

 

Russia has been angry since last year, when Ukrainian singer Jamala won the contest with “1944.” The song described the deportations of Crimean Tatars to Central Asia under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, but also hinted at their recent treatment under Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 

As the 2016 winner, Ukraine is this year’s Eurovision host.

 

John Kennedy O’Connor, author of Eurovision’s official history, said Ukraine has long used Eurovision as a way to annoy Russia.

 

“Last time the contest was in Kyiv it was a song about the Orange Revolution and it was allowed to compete,” he said. “Ukraine has been needling away for a long time and now the contest is going to be in a real crisis.”

 

The Moscow-Kyiv split is a headache for Eurovision’s producer, the European Broadcasting Union, which strives mightily to keep pop and politics separate. Overtly political flags and banners are banned, and lyrics are monitored for provocative content. In 2009 the EBU nixed the Georgian entry “We Don’t Wanna Put In,” a dig at Putin. The union has been criticized for not barring “1944” last year, allowing Russia-Ukraine tensions to fester.

 

The acrimony is ironic, since Eurovision was founded in 1956 to bring the recently warring countries of Europe together. It launched a year before the foundation of the European Economic Community, forerunner of the European Union.

 

“Eurovision, like the EEC, was born out of this passionate belief that we mustn’t have another war in Europe,” said Chris West, author of “Eurovision!” — a history of the contest and the continent. “Both institutions were driven by this sense of ‘never again.'”

 

From its launch with seven countries, Eurovision has grown to include more than 40, including non-European nations such as Israel and — somewhat controversially — far-off Australia.

 

The contest helped launch the careers of Sweden’s ABBA — victors in 1974 with “Waterloo” — Canada’s Celine Dion, who won for Switzerland in 1988, and Irish high-steppers Riverdance, the half-time entertainment in 1994.

 

Eurovision has a huge gay following and has become a symbol of optimistic liberalism — this year’s motto is “celebrate diversity.” Victories by transgender Israeli singer Dana International in 1998 and bearded Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst in 2014 were hailed by liberals and condemned by conservatives — notably in Russia, where nationalist politicians cited the contest as evidence of Western degeneracy.

 

Onstage, many Eurovision-watchers expect this year to bring resurgence for western Europe after years of eastern and Nordic dominance. The bookies’ favorites are Portuguese balladeer Salvador Sobral with the syrupy “Amar Pelos Dois” (”Love For Both of Us”) and Italy’s Francesco Gabbani , who is accompanied by a dancer in a gorilla suit on “Occidentali’s Karma,” (”Westerner’s Karma”), a cheekily sardonic look at human evolution.

 

O’Connor says the Italian song has the qualities of a Eurovision classic.

 

“It’s so out there and it’s so outrageous and it’s so silly,” he said. “But it’s also very, very catchy.”

 

One country not expecting a first-place finish is Britain. The U.K. has not won since 1997, and many Britons suspect politics lies behind the country’s poor showing. Winners are decided by the votes of viewers and national juries, and regional alliances are often evident. Greece and Cyprus routinely give each other maximum points, as do the Nordic and Baltic states.

 

Britain is seen as having few allies, and some worry the country’s decision to leave the EU may further harm the chances of U.K. contestant Lucie Jones , performing the ballad “Never Give Up On You.”

 

West says the truth is simpler: Recent British entries just haven’t been very good.

 

“Bloc voting won’t make a rubbish song win,” he said. “I think a song’s got to be decent in order to win.

 

“It’ll be helped by bloc voting, and that is a problem for Britain because we don’t really have a bloc. But I think if Adele or Ed Sheeran entered the competition they could still win it.”
…