Month: February 2020

Punxsutawney Phil, the American groundhog famous for predicting the end of winter in the United States, did not see his shadow Sunday morning, indicating that spring will come early this year.”Hear ye, hear ye!” a member of Phil’s “inner circle” yelled to cheering crowds after presenting the furry rodent.”There is no shadow of me, spring will be early — it’s a certainty!” he screamed as the audience around Gobbler’s Knob clapped.Feb. 2 marks Groundhog Day, when traditionally a Pennsylvania groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil makes an appearance above ground, near the cozy tree stump he calls home. Legend has it that if he sees his shadow, North America is in for six more weeks of winter weather.The event traces roots back to legends in Germany, which indicate that if a rodent sees its shadow on February 2nd, winter continues.A crowd gathered around Phil’s tree stump on Sunday morning before sunrise to behold the traditional prediction, as a group of top-hat wearing handlers surrounded the groundhog and lifted him up for the crowd to see.2020 marks Phil’s 134th Groundhog Day ceremony, according to the Pennsylvania Tourism office.Punxsutawney Phil is the most famous of the furry prognosticators. Generations of groundhogs, which are members of the marmot family known as woodchucks, have been predicting the weather since 1887.Records going back to 1887 show Phil has predicted many more winters than an early spring. But his predictions are, understandably, dubious.
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“Parasite” has continued its march through Hollywood’s awards season by winning the best original screenplay honor at Saturday’s Writers Guild Awards.The Nazi satire “Jojo Rabbit” took home the best adapted screenplay honor.The Writers Guild Awards were roughly a week before the Academy Awards, where both films will compete in the best picture category.The “Parasite” win went to Bong Joon Ho, who is also the film’s director and Han Jin Won. Taika Waititi won for “Jojo Rabbit,” a film he also directed and starred in.HBO swept the top television awards, winning the drama category for “Succession,”the comedy category for ”Barry” and the best new series honor of “Watchmen.”The premium cable network’s limited series also won the original long form prize, while FX’s ”Fosse/Verdon” won the adapted long form award.Saturday’s awards were handed out in concurrent ceremonies in New York and Beverly Hills, California. 
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This year’s Super Bowl won’t be a politics-free zone, as both President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg will air campaign ads during the game.But most other advertisers will offer escape  from impeachment and the upcoming presidential election by stuffing multiple celebrities in their ads, appropriating iconic songs, going for inoffensive humor, and trying to tug at people’s heartstrings.Here are 10 ads to watch for during Sunday’s game in Miami:AMAZONAmazon’s ad stars Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, actress Portia de Rossi, imagining life before the company’s voice assistant Alexa. A maid named Alexa throws some burning firewood out a window when she is asked to turn the temperature down; an Old West pioneer asks his companion Al to “play that song I like.” In one of the few political allusions of the night, a newsboy says his newspaper has “fake news” and a character resembling Richard Nixon asks his secretary to remind him to delete his tapes (although she tells the camera she won’t do it).AUDIArya can sing as well as stab, it turns out. “Game of Thrones” actress Maisie Williams belts out the hit song “Let it Go” from “Frozen” as she promotes Audi’s e-tron family of electric vehicles. The ad airs in the second quarter.BUDWEISERThe Anheuser-Busch brand enlisted Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow for a 60-second ad that contrasts a voiceover of “typical American” behavior with real-life video of Americans doing heartwarming things. For instance, the narration says typical Americans are “always so competitive” while the ad shows Hannah Gavios, who is partially paralyzed, completing a marathon.CHEETOSThe MC Hammer classic “U Can’t Touch This” is 30 years old this year, but that’s not keeping Cheetos from embracing it. The snack-food ad features a man with bright orange Cheetos dust on his hands who can’t stop moving furniture or performing office tasks. Hammer himself — “Hammer pants” and all — also keeps popping up to utter his iconic catchphrase.DORITOSThe snack chip is betting people will connect with “Old Town Road,” the smash hit of the summer by Lil Nas X. In the Western-themed ad, Lil Nas has a dance off with grizzled character actor Sam Elliott. Billy Cyrus, who features in the song’s remix, also makes a cameo.FACEBOOKThe social media site hasn’t unveiled its first-ever Super Bowl ad but it will star Rocky himself, Sylvester Stallone, with comedian Chris Rock to promote the site’s Groups feature. The 60-second ad airs late in the game during the fourth quarter.GOOGLEGoogle’s 90-second ad is one of the few ads this year that doesn’t use humor or celebrities. It features a man reminiscing about his wife, using the Google Assistant feature to pull up old photos of her and past vacations. The ad is set to an instrumental version of “Say Something” by Great Big World.HYUNDAIThe automaker pokes fun at Boston accents with a 60-second ad in the second quarter that uses Boston-affiliated celebrities including actor Chris Evans, John Krasinski, Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch and Boston Red Sox manager David Ortiz. They discuss Hyundai’s feature that lets car owners park remotely with exaggerated accents that make “Smart Park” sound like “smaht pahk.”MICHELOBWrestler-turned-actor John Cena tries to convince Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon that there’s a “lighter side” to working out, with cameos by Tonight show band The Roots and Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt. The ad ultimately hawks Michelob Ultra, which Anheuser-Busch promotes as a lower calorie beer.PEPSIPepsi tries to reignite the Cola Wars with Missy Elliott and H.E.R. performing an updated version of the Rolling Stones’ classic tune “Paint It Black.” As singers intone the lyrics “I see a red door and I want it painted black,” a red cola can resembling a Coke changes into a black can of Pepsi.
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American fast-food icon McDonald’s Friday marked 30 years since it first opened its doors in Moscow, an occasion with deep resonance here since the transition from the communist Soviet Union.Yet, marring the celebration were city authorities’ concerns over an outbreak of the coronavirus in neighboring China.   
The restaurant had marketed a day of Soviet-era pricing, with hamburgers costing their original 1990 3 ruble price tag, but canceled the event amid government fears a Soviet-era line would pose a health hazard.   Coupons were issued instead for the thousands who arrived anyway.   Pushkin Square McDonald’s, Jan. 31, 2020, the 30th anniversary of the fast-food restaurant in Russia. (C. Maynes/VOA)Burgers of ChangeThe McDonald’s ‘Golden Arches’ first lit up on Moscow’s Pushkin Square to great fanfare on January 31, 1990.An estimated 38,000 Soviets lined up for hours for what they might have heard of but never tasted, a McDonald’s hamburger. “All I remember is we waited a long time,” Elena Nikolaevna, 78, a former factory worker who came to attend the 30th anniversary celebrations, said. “I felt like I was eating America itself,”  Andrey, 53, said, recalling his first bite, a month after the initial opening.  “The lines were huge,” he said.    The Moscow launch set company records at the time, with the most customers ever served in one day.   The event was intrinsically linked to Russians’ desire for Western-style market reforms under former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of perestroika, or restructuring.  First introduced in 1986, perestroika brought new openness to Soviet society, but provided few quick paths toward repairing the USSR’s deeply flawed command economy.The scene on Pushkin Square seemed to lay bare those contradictions; while shortages of basic necessities were common in Soviet stores, McDonald’s — almost magically — never ran out of food.The secret was that the company had negotiated to set up a private manufacturing plant within the Soviet Union — unheard of at the time — while importing 80% of whatever else was needed.  It was effective but far from perfect: the company operated at a loss. There were problems from the Soviet customer’s point of view too, as an average meal cost more than a half day’s wages.Calling McCanadaThere was also an open secret about this symbol of America being introduced into the Soviet Union — it was actually Canadian.The CEO of McDonald’s Canada, American-Canadian citizen George Cohen, first latched onto the idea of opening a McDonald’s in the Soviet Union after bringing Soviet representatives to a McDonald’s during the 1976 Montreal Olympics.The Soviets liked the food and, even more, they admired the service.   Moscow was gearing up to host its own 1980 Summer Games and looking for ways to feed foreign tourists something quick, familiar, and tasty while maintaining their pride.   “Being a Canadian company was giving a neutral touch to the whole setup,” Marc Carena, the current CEO of McDonald’s Russia, told VOA.  Cold War politics, including the U.S. decision to  boycott the 1980 games over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, ultimately scuttled the deal.Yet, a few years and hundreds of hours of negotiations later, Gorbachev endorsed the Golden Arches as part of his push for change.  “McDonald’s was more than the opening of a simple restaurant,” Carena said,  “It came to symbolize the entire opening of the USSR to the West.”Service with a SmileWatching archival videos, available on YouTube, is like entering a time warp regarding relations between Moscow and Washington then. “They say the West is bad, but I like this food,” says a young customer interviewed at the 1990 opening. “We were interested in another life and what it looked like,” Georgi, a retired army veteran, told VOA.“McDonald’s just made the world just feel wider. That’s not the case now,” he said.  In theory, he was referring to  the current poor state of U.S.-Russian relations, although in reality, he had just finished a Big Mac.McDonald’s’ most lasting Russian legacy may lie in the Western-style services the company pioneered here.After placing a single advertisement in the leading Moskovsky Komsomolets daily, the company fielded 30,000 applications.  Just over 600 finalists were chosen.   “I remember waiting for the bus and looking at the McDonald’s sign and crying,” said Svetlana Polyakova, who was hired to flip hamburgers.“I thought I’d made it,” added Polyakova, now the company’s Russia public relations director.   Those chosen were young and energetic, and had little or no experience.  That was the point.  McDonald’s employees, by design, had none of the bad habits associated with the grim unfriendly service of Soviet cafes, Anna Patrunina, one of the original cashiers but now vice president of operations, said. “Anna Patrunina, one of the original 1990 hires and now VP of Operations of McDonald’s Russia, Jan. 31, 2020. (C. Maynes/VOA)We were asked, can you smile for eight hours straight? We all said yes, of course,” she told VOA,  “but it turns out it’s harder than you think.”Smiling was a warmth easily extended in Soviet home but was not part of public life.  It was foreign.  It was weird.  It was American.New Times, New RulesToday, good service in Russia is common, and so, too, is McDonald’s.The company now has more than 700 stores across the country and 98% of the company’s supplies are now sourced locally.”We’re a Russian company and we always were a Russian company,” according to Carena, a Swiss national and the only foreigner on staff.  Not everyone is happy, though. “I don’t like their fast food. I never have,” said Elchin, 58, a businessman who moved to Moscow from Baku, Azerbaijan, 30 years ago, adding he preferred home-cooked meals. “Ukrainian borscht, Russian dumplings, Armenian barbecue … now that’s food to savor,” he said.   “Nothing against the U.S. but I love the classics,” he said.
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America’s Sofia Kenin stunned two-time Major champion Garbine Muguruza to win the Australian Open on Saturday, completing a surprise run where she has come from nowhere to win her first Grand Slam title.Despite making her debut in a Major final Kenin, 21, showed all her trademark aggression as she fought back from a set down to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in 2hrs 3mins against the shellshocked Spaniard.The 14th seed, who will now jump as high as seventh in the world and usurp Serena Williams as America’s number one, was in tears at the end and headed straight for her father Alexander, who is her coach.It was the final twist in a tournament of upsets, after Williams went out in the third round and Kenin upset Australia’s world number one Ashleigh Barty in the semi-finals.”My dream officially came true, I can’t describe this feeling,” said Moscow-born Kenin. “It’s amazing, dreams come true. If you have dreams, go for it, it’s going to come true.”Spain’s Muguruza, 26, was unseeded for the first time at a Slam since 2014 having suffered a marked loss of form in the last 18 months.She was resurgent in Melbourne over the past fortnight, but after grabbing the first-set lead, her serve failed her spectacularly.She totted up eight double-faults in all, three of them in the final game — including one on the second championship point, handing the title to her younger opponent.Kenin fights backMuguruza drew first blood at Rod Laver Arena, where the roof was closed for rain in Melbourne, getting the first break of serve.Moscow-born Kenin, who ended the fairytale run of 15-year-old Coco Gauff on her way to the final, bounced her American stars-and-stripes racquet on the hardcourt in irritation.The 2016 French Open and 2017 Wimbledon winner Muguruza took the first set in 52 minutes when the young American planted her forehand out.But the aggressive Kenin upped the ante in the second set, breaking her more experienced opponent in the fourth game and easily holding to sprint into a 4-1 lead.Kenin, who won their only previous encounter in three sets, grabbed the second set in an emphatic 32 minutes. A rattled Muguruza was seen briefly by a physio for what appeared to be a lower-back problem.Into the deciding set and the gutsy Kenin saved three game points in a pivotal fifth game, tossing the ball back over her head by way of celebration.Kenin, who was overshadowed in the build-up to Melbourne by the likes of Williams, Osaka and Barty, adds by far the biggest title of her fast-burgeoning career to the three WTA crowns she won last year.”The past two weeks have been the best of my life,” she told Rod Laver Arena, as her father — who left the Soviet Union in 1987 to give the family a better life — filmed her victory speech on his phone.”I love you guys from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much,” she told the crowd.At 21 years and 80 days, Kenin is 22 days younger than Japan’s Naomi Osaka when she won the title last year.Kenin is the youngest Australian Open champion since Maria Sharapova — her idol — won aged 20 in 2008.
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Mary Higgins Clark, the tireless and long-reigning “Queen of Suspense” whose tales of women beating the odds made her one of the world’s most popular writers, died Friday at age 92.Her publisher, Simon & Schuster, announced that she died of natural causes in Naples, Florida.“Nobody ever bonded more completely with her readers than Mary did,” her longtime editor Michael Korda said in statement. “She understood them as if they were members of her own family. She was always absolutely sure of what they wanted to read — and, perhaps more important, what they didn’t want to read — and yet she managed to surprise them with every book.”Widowed in her late 30s with five children, she became a perennial bestseller over the second half of her life, writing or co-writing “A Stranger Is Watching,” “Daddy’s Little Girl” and more than 50 other favorites. Sales topped 100 million copies and honors came from all over, including a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters from France or a Grand Master statuette back home from the Mystery Writers of America. Many of her books, like “A Stranger is Watching” and “Lucky Day,” were adapted for movies and television. She also collaborated on several novels with her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark.Resilient womenMary Higgins Clark specialized in women triumphing over danger, such as the besieged young prosecutor in “Just Take My Heart” or the mother of two and art gallery worker whose second husband is a madman in “A Cry in the Night.” Clark’s goal as an author was simple, if rarely easy: Keep the readers reading.“You want to turn the page,” she told The Associated Press in 2013. “There are wonderful sagas you can thoroughly enjoy a section and put it down. But if you’re reading my book, I want you stuck with reading the next paragraph. The greatest compliment I can receive is, ‘I read your darned book ‘til 4 in the morning, and now I’m tired.’ I say, ‘Then you get your money’s worth.’”Her own life taught her lessons of resilience, strengthened by her Catholic faith, that she shared with her fictional heroines. She was born Mary Higgins in 1927 in New York City, the second of three children. She would later take the last name Clark after marriage. Her father ran a popular pub that did well enough for the family to afford a maid and for her mother to prepare meals for strangers in need. But business slowed during the Great Depression, and her father, forced to work ever longer hours as he laid off employees, died in his sleep in 1939. One of her brothers died of meningitis a few years later. Surviving family members took on odd jobs and had to rent out rooms in the house.A writer is bornClark had always loved to write. At age 6, she completed her first poem, which her mother proudly requested she recite in front of the family. A story she wrote in grade school impressed her teacher enough that Clark read it to the rest of the class. By high school, she was trying to sell stories to True Confessions magazine.After working as a hotel switchboard operator — Tennessee Williams was among the guests she eavesdropped on — and a flight attendant for Pan American, she married Capital Airways regional manager Warren Clark in 1949. Throughout the 1950s and into the ’60s, she raised their children, studied writing at New York University and began getting stories published.Some stories drew upon her experiences at Pan American. Another story, which appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, “Beauty Contest at Buckingham Palace,” imagined a pageant featuring Queen Elizabeth II, Jackie Kennedy and Princess Grace of Monaco. But by the mid-60s, the magazine market for fiction was rapidly shrinking and her husband’s health was failing; Warren Clark died of a heart attack in 1964.Clark quickly found work as a script writer for “Portrait of a President,” a radio series on American presidents. Her research inspired her first book, a historical novel about George and Martha Washington. She was so determined that she began getting up at 5 a.m., working until nearly 7 a.m. before feeding her children and leaving for work.“Aspire to the Heavens” was published in 1969. It was “a triumph,” she recalled in her memoir “Kitchen Privileges,” but also a folly. The book’s publisher was sold near the release date and it received little attention. She regretted the title and learned that some stores placed the book in religious sections. Her compensation was $1,500, minus commission. Decades later, the novel would be reissued, far more successfully, as “Mount Vernon: A Love Story.”Into suspenseFor her next book, she wanted to make some money. Following a guideline she would often suggest to other writers, she looked at her bookshelves, which featured novels by Agatha Christie, Rex Stout and other mystery writers, and decided she should write the kind of book she liked to read. A recent tabloid trial about a young woman accused of murdering her children gave her an idea.“It seemed inconceivable to most of us that any woman could do that to her children,” Mary Clark wrote in her memoir. “And then I thought: Suppose an innocent young mother is convicted of the deliberate murder of her two children; suppose she gets out of prison on a technicality; and then suppose seven years to the day, on her 32nd birthday, the children of her second marriage disappear.”In September 1974, she sent her agent a manuscript for “Die a Little Death,” acquired months later by Simon & Schuster for $3,000. Renamed “Where are the Children?” and released in 1975, it became her first bestseller and began her long, but not entirely surprising, run of success. She would allege that a psychic had told her she would become rich and famous.Clark, who wrote well into her 90s, more than compensated for her early struggles. She acquired several homes and for a time owned part of the New Jersey Nets. She was among a circle of authors, including Lee Child and Nelson DeMille, who regularly met for dinner in Manhattan. She also had friends in Washington and was a White House guest during the presidential administrations of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Barbara Bush became a close friend.Married since 1996 to former Merrill Lynch Futures CEO John J. Conheeney, Clark remembered well the day she said goodbye to hard times. It was in April 1977, and her agent had told her that Simon & Schuster was offering $500,000 for the hardcover to her third novel, “A Stranger is Watching,” and that the publisher Dell was paying $1 million for the paperback. She had been running her own script production company during the day and studying for a philosophy degree at Fordham University at night, returning home to New Jersey in an old car with more than 100,000 miles on it.“As I drove onto the Henry Hudson Parkway, the tailpipe and muffler came loose and began dragging on the ground. For the next 21 miles, I kur-plunked, kur-plunked, all the way home,” she wrote in her memoir. “People in other cars kept honking and beeping, obviously sure that I was either too stupid or too deaf to hear the racket.“The next day I bought a Cadillac!”
 
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