18 Aug 2014

Monday's Scottish gossip

FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Celtic are on the verge of agreeing a deal to sign £4m-rated Ghana winger Mubarak Wakaso on a season-long loan from Russian club Rubin Kazan. (Daily Record)

Family is the theme for this week's issue of Women's Day, as cover-girl Wendy Petrie talks about her "number one son!". Also, her only son.

The magazine paid special tribute to comic genius Robin Williams, following his suicide last week. The article delves into the actor's childhood, saying his best friend was a dog named Duke, and his zany imagination developed from attempting to impress his distant parents.

Everton FC could be set to make a move for Crewe Alexandre youngster Max Clayton, according to the Daily Mail .

The Blues are said to be ready to make a move for the 20-year-old and it is reported that Roberto Martinez would like to offer the England under-19 international a trial at Goodison Park .

Liverpool FC have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Monaco forward Radamel Falcao according to The Mail .

The Colombia striker is said to be interested in a move to Anfield after an unhappy spell in the Principality since joining from Atletico Madrid last summer.
Falcao is said to have his heart set on a move to Real Madrid, but with the Spanish club already spending around £90m this summer on Falcao's compatriot James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos and Keylor Navas, a move to the Spanish capital will not be forthcoming for the 28-year-old.

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Manchester United are preparing a £100m package to bring Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria, 26, to Old Trafford, which would cover the Argentina international's £50m transfer fee and wages. (Daily Mail)

SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- Local firms spent more than 9 trillion won (US$8.8 billion) last year on business-related entertainment, government data showed Monday, indicating they continued to spend heavily to treat clients despite the slumping economy.

Her rumoured romance with James Packer continues to fuel headlines, but Miranda Kerr says the billionaire's infamous bust-up with Nine Network boss David Gyngell wasn't about her.

"They weren't fighting over me," Kerr told London's The Sunday Times.
Footage published in May showed Packer and Gyngell hurling punches at each other outside Packer's Bondi pad, before other men eventually restrained the long-time friends.

With all the exciting events going on this summer, the possibilities are practically endless. Here’s a look at what’s coming up this week, from Aug. 18 to Aug. 24. In the “Main Attractions” section, you’ll find the region’s biggest festivals, concerts and other events. “A Week’s Worth of Fun” offers ideas for close-to-home fun for the family most days of the week. Finally, “Ongoing Adventures” is your guide to museums, parks and other attractions ripe for a summer visit with your family. Enjoy the summer!

**South Korea has its sights set on Western markets for its popular culture, and Gangnam Style was just the start.**

The pop star Psy might have sparked a worldwide phenomenon with Gangnam Style, the song that spawned countless parodies, but now his native South Korea is preparing to mount a global takeover.

Chris Martin was attracted to Jennifer Lawrence because she's the polar opposite of Gwyneth Paltrow.

The Coldplay frontman, 37, reportedly fell for the 24-year-old star's laid-back personality, and friends believe she's good for him following his failed marriage with clean-living Gwyneth, whom he split from in March.

Evgeny Lebedev’s local TV station opts to boost news and current affairs to align content with Evening Standard’s audience

Evgeny Lebedev’s local TV station London Live is to stop commissioning entertainment shows, instead opting to boost the amount of news and current affairs on the channel.
On Monday, London Live said the programming shift is designed to align the TV station’s content more closely with the London Evening Standard’s 15-44 audience.

Things are usually far from rosy on Albert Square. Menacing words are hissed through gritted teeth, spats erupt spontaneously in the Queen Vic, and then of course there’s the odd murder plot every now and again.

It’s understandable, then, that three Eastenders alumni – Emma Barton, Jasmyn Banks and Shaun Williamson – have swapped drama in the street for chuckles on the stage with the live tour of the award-winning comedy One Man, Two Guvnors.

Facebook is testing out a satire tag in a bid to ensure that when a user shares a link to a comedy news article, everyone who clicks through is in on the joke.

Many web users of a certain age despise emoticons, but they provide a very pertinent service in a world where the majority of our communication is now text-based.

The half-hour scripted show premieres Oct. 4. Watch the new trailer exclusively on BuzzFeed.

1. No, the show is not about LeBron James.

My colleague Lyn Gardner wrote last week about "a critical exodus from the fringe by the mainstream press", and I share her concerns. The issue is discussed in comedy circles too: I've spoken to several PRs who say they haven't had much to do at this year's fringe, because coverage in the mainstream press is so diminished. Of course, the flourishing of alternative critical voices online is an exciting development, but perhaps not yet an adequate replacement – as one confrontation last week made clear.

In advance of the Emmy Awards on Aug. 25, we’re asking you to tell us who deserved their nominations and who else should have been nominated. Next up is best comedy series. Take a look at this alternate list — it’s made up of the actual nominees; popular and critical favorites that weren’t nominated; and my own choices. Cast your votes in the comments, and let us know who’s still been left out.

Breaking up is hard to do if you're part of a comedy group where the numbers no longer add up. Pappy's and the Birthday Girls relive the horrors of rejigging their lineups

Sketch troupes have limited life spans. They split up and reform. They lose and gain members. They change shape and rebrand. Cardinal Burns started out as a three-piece called Fat Tongue. Pappy's began with four. Before Cowards settled, there were seven of them – the other three being Alex Horne, Mark Watson and T4's Rick Edwards.

From Luisa Omielan’s feelgood hour to Liam Williams’s pensive set, here are 10 fringe shows where you pay on the way out

Just as there is some dross on the paid fringe, there is gold in the free bit. As ever, the Free Fringe is the landing strip for comedy’s outsiders and experimenters. Over the past few years more and more professional acts have moved over from paid to free, liberating themselves from large upfront costs and obsessively checking ticket sales. Here are 10 super shows where you pay nothing to get in (but you do pay to get out).

(AllHipHop News) St. Louis rapper Nelly’s home state has been embroiled in protests for over a week. The town of Ferguson has been the site of ongoing demonstrations stemming from the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown at the hands of a local police officer. The Country Grammar creator recently showed support for the slain teenager at a charity event in Los Angeles.

[ALSO READ: Politicians & Palestinians Address Police Use Of Tear Gas Against Ferguson Protesters]

New research suggests that focusing on the bellies of pregnant celebrities could impact a mother-to-be’s body image and influence how attached she feels to her child while the baby is still in the womb.

Paying attention to the growing bellies of expecting stars may not be so harmless for moms-to-be.
Research out of Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand found that obsessing over celebrity baby bumps may lead to poor body image and impact the love a mother feels for her baby before the child is born, Science of Us reported.

A few years before his death, Robin Williams compared celebrity status to drugs.

“I think celebrity itself is a drug,” Williams told Time magazine in 2011. “There’s that whole thing — it comes and goes. And now with tweeting and Facebook, it’s like cybercrack. Withdrawal from celebrity is an interesting thing. You see people going, ‘I’m not as famous. Oh, man, what am I gonna do?’ ‘Steal some jewelry, Lindsay. That helps.'”

There are just hours to go until the show's live launch so here's your fix of all the latest things you need to know about the new series of CBB

There are just hours to go until the launch of Celebrity Big Brother 2014.
Soon enough people around the UK will be glued to their TV screens every night for the next few weeks, tuning in to watch the latest celebrity housemates fight to the end to become CBB champion of 2014.

Last Monday, Jess Cagle, the new editor of People magazine, had just returned from a meeting in London with representatives of the royal family when he heard about Robin Williams’s death. He ripped up the coming cover on Kate Middleton and ordered a 12-page spread on the comedian.

The next morning, on an hour of sleep, he appeared on “Good Morning America” and filmed a special for “20/20.” Then he learned that one of his personal heroes, Lauren Bacall, had died.

The ALS "Ice Bucket Challenge" is filling social media feeds and celebrities have joined in on the craze. The challenge has helped raise $15.6 million in donations, compared with only $1.8 million during the same time period last year, according to the ALS Association.

Here's a list of 20 famous people drenching themselves with ice water. The people they nominate are just as amusing as their videos.

The Hawaii Film Office has been busy this summer with several high-profile films, publications and television series filming in the state, including Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition, Dateline NBC, Anthony Bourdain’s new show, “The Getaway,” the game show "Wheel of Fortune" and a $15 million independent film, according to public documents from the governor’s office obtained by PBN.

Saturday, August 16, 2014 ratings — New episodes: Dateline Saturday Night Mystery. Specials: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Reruns: 48 Hours, CSI, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Glee.

"Extant" continues to surprise and scare its audience with its recent episodes. This latest chapter "Nightmares" is definitely taking us down the rabbit hole into Halle Berry and Steven Spielberg's minds.

In CBS' summer TV series of "Extant" it is turning out to be a little bit of "The X Files," and a lot of Spielberg references from his past films and TV shows. Does it hurt or help a freshman TV series like "Extant" to use Spielberg references? In little ways yes, and in other ways absolutely not.

Fans of Cinemax‘s Strike Back TV show will have to wait awhile longer for the fifth and final season. The cable channel has revealed that the new episodes won’t start airing until sometime in 2015.

Production on the final season’s 10 episodes had to be put on hold after star Sullivan Stapleton — Sgt. Damien Scott on the show — sustained a serious off-set injury in February.

It's farewell for 'Sons of Anarchy' and 'Boardwalk Empire' and hello to 'Gotham,' 'The Flash,' 'Madam Secretary' and lots more.

Two of the best shows on TV in recent years, or maybe in any years, say goodbye this fall.
Nor does history suggest either will leave quietly.
“Sons of Anarchy” on FX and “Boardwalk Empire” on HBO will wind it up after, respectively, seven and five seasons.

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