Month: December 2019

Drake is the king of streaming: the rapper has been named Spotify’s most-streamed artist of the decade.
Spotify announced Tuesday that Drake has been streamed 28 billion times in the last 10 years. Ed Sheeran came in second, while Post Malone, Ariana Grande and Eminem round out the Top 5. Sheeran’s “Shape of You” was the most-streamed song of the decade.Post Malone performs during Snow Fest at Park City Live on Jan. 20, 2018, in Park City, Utah.For 2019, Post Malone is the top-streamed artist globally. Billie Eilish, Grande, Sheeran and Bad Bunny round out the Top 5. Eilish’s debut album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?'” is the year’s most-streamed album, while Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello’s “Senorita” tops the list of the most-streamed songs.
“The Joe Budden Podcast with Rory & Mal” is the year’s most-streamed podcast on Spotify. 
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The woman who caused Prince Andrew’s fall from grace is appealing to the British public to support her case, saying she was an underage victims of sex trafficking by her one-time boss Jeffrey Epstein. The late financier and convicted sex offender died in jail while awaiting a new trial on charges of sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York. Virginia Roberts Giuffre also claims that she was forced to have sex with Epstein’s attorney Alan Dershowitz. Both men say they have been wrongly accused.
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No other ballet dancer has crossed over into mainstream popular culture quite like Misty Copeland.That was Copeland at the recent American Music Awards, dancing a passionate duet with partner Craig Hall as Taylor Swift sat at the piano singing her hit “Lover.”She’s also working on a new silent film with her production company, focusing on homelessness in California. And a Hollywood biopic is in the early stages.Now Copeland, who leaped to fame in 2015 as the first black female principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, is the latest celebrity to host an online MasterClass, alongside Anna Wintour, Aaron Sorkin, Annie Leibovitz, Ron Howard, Natalie Portman and others.Copeland sat down with The Associated Press recently to talk about the new series and to look back at her career, including the time spent with one of her favorite mentors: the late rock star Prince, whom she credits with teaching her to embrace her uniqueness rather than worry about blending in. The interview has been condensed for length.AP: Your class is primarily about ballet technique. But what else do you hope to teach?Copeland: A lot of people don’t typically look at ballet dancers as athletes, and we are. And so those components, you know, your mental health, your confidence, understanding and being able to use your life experiences to be an artist. All of those … elements are just as important as the technique that we learn since we were children. You know, dancers aren’t just up there twirling around. It looks so effortless, because we work at it for so long to make it look that way. But on top of it, you have to be an incredible actress. You have to have an understanding of adapting in the moment … you have to be very self-aware, present, vulnerable, all these things. And so it was just as important for me to speak about my life, my background, the obstacles that I’ve had.FILE – Ballet dancer Misty Copeland, a cast member in “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” poses at the premiere of the film at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Oct. 29, 2018.AP: Not many people can dance ballet. What’s universal about it?Copeland: At the end of the day, we’re all human beings. It’s always been really important for me to be extremely open … I’ve learned more about myself and grown, and I think other people can benefit. It’s so important, I think, especially for young kids to have an understanding that they’re not alone in that celebrities and principal dancers receive the same type of judgment or criticism.AP: Some people think that once you danced the lead in “Swan Lake” in 2015 and then became a principal, everything was happily ever after.Copeland: (laughs) Once I became a principal dancer, a lot of people looked at it like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s done. Like we’ve moved, we’ve grown, there’s no more racism in ballet or in the world.’ We’re SO far from that … and it’s been a tough journey. When the spotlight’s on you and there’s just so much pressure for you to perform at the top every single time you’re out there. So I went through a very difficult time experiencing the criticism that I got (around) “Swan Lake.”AP: You tell a story about being dissed online at one point for not being able to perform the 32 fouette turns in a performance of “Swan Lake,” and doing a different step instead.Copeland: Yes, someone filmed it in the theater and then posted it on YouTube. I’ve experienced a lot of ridiculous hate online. But this was another level … I’ve looked back at that clip of that show, and I remember just being devastated. But looking back, I don’t see anything wrong with it, you know? That (32 turns) was not even the original choreography. I love to perform, because it’s telling a story through movements. So whatever it is you’re doing, you want the audience to feel it, not just come to the theater … and wait for 32 fouettes that last, like, 30 seconds.AP: In the class, you have a chapter on Prince, one of your most valued mentors.Copeland: When Prince first reached out to me, I just didn’t really understand. I was completely being trusted to go onstage with him, not even knowing what I was going to do. And it empowered me in a way that was shocking. … He used to say to me, ‘Throw on these golden crazy boots.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m a ballerina!’ He’s like, ‘No, you’re a rock star! You’re never going to be this ideal image of what a ballerina is. And that’s amazing. Use your power, your uniqueness, and … if it’s coming from an honest place, people are going to love it.’ I feel like I grew in leaps and bounds from that time we spent together.AP: When you started dancing principal roles, there were suddenly very diverse crowds coming to ABT performances. Do you think that will last beyond the “Misty effect”?Copeland: It’s for a bigger purpose. It’s not like, oh, just come see Misty and then when she retires that goes away. For me, it’s (about) bringing in people that have not felt welcomed or accepted in these spaces. And I know once they’re in the door, they’ll fall in love with it. It’s introducing the next generation, showing them that ballet is still alive.AP: You’re only 37, but ballet is for the young. What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?Copeland: Oh my God. There’s no way I could tell you, even (what I’ll be doing) a year from now. Whenever I look back, I’m like, what? How did I end up doing all these amazing things? How is this happening to this little peanut who was sleeping on the floor of a motel at 13? Now I’m traveling the world and dancing on the most unbelievable iconic stages, and just living this unbelievable dream.
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 Climate change, gun violence, the very nature of democracy and an angsty little movie star called Forky helped propel “existential” to Dictionary.com’s word of the year.
The choice reflects months of high-stakes threats and crises, real and pondered, across the news, the world and throughout 2019.
“In our data, it speaks to this sense of grappling with our survival, both literally and figuratively, that defined so much of the discourse,” said John Kelly, senior research editor for the site, ahead of Monday’s announcement.
The word earned top of mind awareness in sustained searches at Dictionary.com in the aftermath of wildfires and Hurricane Dorian, and mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and El Paso, Texas. It also reared itself in presidential politics and pop culture, including Forky the white plastic spork who was the breakout star of “Toy Story 4.”
The soiled utensil is convinced his destiny is in the trash, until he embraces his purpose as a treasured toy of kindergartener Bonnie.
“Forky underscores how this sense of grappling can also inspire us to ask big questions about who we are, about our purpose,” Kelly told The Associated Press.
Oxford Dictionaries picked “climate emergency” as its word of the year, noting usage evidence that reflects the “ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year,” the company said in a statement.
Dictionary.com crunches lookup and other data to decide which word to anoint each year. The site has been picking a word of the year since 2010.
Among search spikes for “existential” were those that occurred after both Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders and 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg characterized climate change as an “existential” crisis, Kelly said.
Another spike occurred when former Vice President Joe Biden, also vying for the Democratic presidential nod, painted President Donald Trump as an “existential threat” to decency.
The word dates to 1685, deriving from Late Latin’s “existentialis.”  Dictionary.com defines existential as “of or relating to existence” and “of, relating to, or characteristic of philosophical existentialism; concerned with the nature of human existence as determined by the individual’s freely made choices.”
Enter Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Gabriel Marcel and Jean-Paul Sartre, thinkers who molded and embraced existentialism, among other movements.
Climate, guns and the impeachment crisis for Donald Trump were just a few areas that seemed to frame debate in existential terms. So did the Hong Kong protests, the Notre Dame fire, tensions between the United States and China, and Big Tech’s privacy and fake news problems.
“We started to see existential in the dialogue beginning in January and all the way through the year,” said Jennifer Steeves-Kiss, Dictionary.com’s chief executive officer. “This is a consistent theme that we saw in our data, but it also was leveraged across many different important questions of our time.”
As for Forky, his journey from disposable utensil to handmade toy points to the concept of “agency,” Kelly said, referring to the power to direct our own existences. That, he said, affords us the “opportunity to turn existential threats into existential choices.” 
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A medium-sized hunting dog breed called the Shiba Inu once faced extinction in Japan because of war and disease.
 
Now the breed is a pet owner rage in Taiwan. The size and temperament of the fluffy orange-and-white dogs mesh with people’s apartment lifestyles in dense Taiwanese cities, the dog owners say. Their penchant for the dogs reflects a liking for Japanese culture and helps sustain the species.
 
Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture says it doesn’t keep tabs on how many Shiba Inus live on the island, but one dog seller moves four puppies per month and a local club for people who own the breed has about 60 members, who average more than one dog each.Anyone passing through a Taipei park in the early evening will see at least a couple of them being walked.”The basic way to say it is they’re easy to raise and their overall quality is strong,” said Lee Yu-tsung, owner of a pet store in the Taiwanese city Taichung.
 
 FILE – A Shiba Inu dog relaxes at Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan, Dec. 23, 2015.Nearly extinct in Japan
 
The Shiba Inu and other Shiba breeds date back thousands of years, when Japanese tribes used them to hunt large and small game.
 
Shiba Inu dogs nearly went extinct in 1940s Japan, according to the American Kennel Club advocacy group. Most died in World War II bombing raids or after the war from distemper, a contagious viral infection, the kennel club says.
 
Breeding programs that began after the war helped restore the Shiba in Japan, the kennel club says. Japan now calls these dogs a national treasure.
 Must-have dog in Taiwan
 
Taiwanese took a fancy to the Shiba Inu about five years ago, said Liao Di-hua, an official with the 60-member association, the Taiwan Shiba Inu Club.Shiba Inu dogs work well for urban Taiwanese because they’re neighbor-friendly. Compared to other dog breeds, they seldom get sick or emit a strong dog odor, Lee said. He sells about four per month at prices from $390 to $820.
The Shiba Inu’s size also works well in Taiwanese apartments because it’s smaller than a full-sized hunting dog, Lee said. Larger flats often accommodate three generations of people, leaving space too tight to raise a bigger dog in comfort.Couples might live in units with just a living room and a bathroom. The dogs seldom bark, he added, reducing the risk of complaints from neighbors.
 
“Because it’s a smaller to medium-sized dog, basically the space where they’re raised doesn’t need to be very big and so this breed of dog therefore is quite suitable for keeping in the cities,” said Lee, who has sold the dogs for three years.
 File — Pet owner Shinjiro Ono with his Shiba Inu Maru at Ueno Park in Tokyo.The Shiba Inu is described sometimes as a cat-like dog, meaning it’s more independent than other breeds and therefore easier to care for in a household of busy people. They’ve also been likened to foxes because of their coloration and pointy ears. That’s not all.
 
“I raise Shiba Inus because I like wolves and the Shiba is like the wolf, since both are strong hunters,” said Liao. He’s got 11 of the dogs now, which he raises at spacious home rather than a small apartment. He walks all of them twice daily.
 Running with the pack
 
These dogs are also popular “companion dogs” again in Japan, the American Kennel Club says.Japanese culture often extends into Taiwan, where already people respect the nearby Asian country’s film, art and food. Taiwanese are prone as well to dog fads, often based on imagery seen in the media.
 
Cartoon likenesses of the Shiba Inu appear in advertisements and stuffed Shiba Inus – some nearly as big as the real thing – sell via e-commerce. One Japanese restaurant in the capital Taipei had called itself the Honest Shiba Inu.
 FILE – A Shiba Inu is shown in the ring at the 140th Westminster Kennel Club dog show, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Feb. 15, 2016.Too much popularity for purebred dogs in Taiwan historically gives business to puppy mills, which are breeders that put dogs under so much stress that they develop a range of hereditary diseases and come away poorly socialized, said Bruce Shu, interim executive director of Taiwan-based animal shelter the PACK Sanctuary.
 
He advises any prospective puppy buyers to meet the parents first.
 
“I think it’s a matter of supply and demand, so as breeds become more popular, like for example small poodles are perennially popular, puppy mills will meet that demand to an unsuspecting public,” Shu said. 
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A tiny wooden relic that some Christians believe to be part of Jesus’ manger arrived Saturday in its permanent home in the biblical city of Bethlehem 1,400 years after it was sent to Rome as a gift to the pope.Sheathed in an ornate case, cheerful crowds greeted the relic with much fanfare before it entered the Franciscan Church of St. Catherine next to the Church of the Nativity, the West Bank holy site where tradition says Jesus was born.A wooden relic believed to be from Jesus’ manger is seen at the Notre Dame church in Jerusalem, Nov. 29, 2019. Christians are celebrating the return to the Holy Land of a tiny wooden relic believed to be from Jesus’ manger.’A great joy’The return of the relic by the Vatican was a spirit-lifting moment for the Palestinians. It coincides with Advent, a four-week period leading up to Christmas. Troubled Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is bracing for the occasion, where pilgrims from around the world flock to the city.Young Palestinian scouts played bagpipes and the crowd snapped pictures as a clergyman held the silver reliquary and marched toward the church.Christians make up a small minority of Palestinians and Bethlehem is one of the only cities in the West Bank and Gaza where Christmas is celebrated.Brother Francesco Patton, the custodian of the Franciscan order in the Holy Land, said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had asked Pope Francis to borrow the entire manger, but the pope decided to send a tiny portion of it to stay permanently in Bethlehem.“It’s a great joy” that the piece returns to its original place, Patton said, according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency.A wooden relic believed to be from Jesus’ manger is seen in the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Nov. 30, 2019.Manger moved to RomeA wooden structure that Christians believe was part of the manger where Jesus was born was sent by St. Sophronius, the patriarch of Jerusalem, to Pope Theodore I in the 640s, around the time of the Muslim conquest of the Holy Land.On Friday, the thumb-sized wooden piece was unveiled to worshippers at the Notre Dame church in Jerusalem for a day of celebrations and prayer.On Saturday evening, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and other officials attended a Christmas tree lighting in Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity.Hundreds of faithful and residents also gathered for the festive annual event, which included fireworks and songs. Crowds cheered as the giant tree was illuminated.Revelers and worshippers alike will pack the same square for Christmas Eve festivities later in December.
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