Harry
Potter is therapeutic for kids!
Sydney:
Kids should read JK Rowling's Harry Potter series to
illustrate the importance of family, friends and community,
a Melbourne academic has said. Melbourne University professor
and head of pediatrics Glenn Bowes said when looking for
an institution that embodies all that is best for development
of young minds and bodies, educationalists need look no
further than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"The reason for looking at Harry Potter is that it shows
some aspects of how children develop resilience and improve
their life chances. Harry is an orphan but he survives and
does well despite having the odds stacked against him,"
news.com.au quoted Bowes as saying. His observations are
based on the results of the Gatehouse research project conducted
by the Centre of Adolescent Health in Victorian secondary
schools since 1996. "The researches found that a comprehensive
whole-of-school program with a focus on connectedness and
participation significantly reduced the prevalence of heavy
substance use, binge drinking, smoking and sexual activity
among year eight students," he said.
Schoolgirl
battles 8 hours and nets 400-kg tiger shark (Go
To Top)
Sydney:
Talk about fishing goodies! A schoolgirl has landed
a 400 kg tiger shark while fishing with her family in Sydney.
According to a report in 'Herald Sun', Pascale Paton fought
the shark for eight hours before she managed to secure it
to the side of a charter boat 7 km off Sydney at the weekend.
"I was really scared because I've never caught anything
that big. After two hours of fighting with it, I saw it
for the first time, and I was determined to get it. My legs
started to hurt, but I wouldn't give up," the 16-year old
schoolgirl said. The shark weighed 396 kg and measured 4.4
m. Pascale was taking part in Sydney's Broken Bay fishing
tournament. Her father, John Paton, who has spent 50 years
in the fishing industry, said it was one of the biggest
sharks caught by a female in the past 10 years. "She nearly
gave up. I'm surprised she hung on as long as she did. I
couldn't help her. As soon as she picked up the rod, she
was the only person allowed to touch it -- those are the
rules of the competition," he said. At 9.45 am, the shark
nabbed a 5-kg salmon bait with a balloon attached to it
and it was 6 pm when Pascale won her struggle with the fish.
Paton said that he had taught his daughter to keep sharks
on the line by using technique rather than strength. "Pascale
has been fishing since she was a young girl," the proud
father said.
The
Passion of the Christ claims another victim (Go
To Top)
Sydney:
'The Passion' seems to be truly evoking a lot of passions!
A Brazilian pastor recently breathed his last while watching
Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of the Christ".
Pastor Jose Geraldo Soares was watching the film based on
the last hours of Jesus' life when he suffered a "violent
heart attack" in a movie theatre in Belo Horizonte, capital
of the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, the Courier
Mail reported. According to Pastor Amauri Costa de Oliveira,
the 43-year old Soares did not respond when his wife turned
to speak to him during the film. The couple was with their
two children. Soares was a member of the Eighth Presbyterian
Church of Belo Horizonte, which reserved the entire movie
theater in order to enable its 270 followers watch the dramatization
of Jesus' last 12 hours before his crucifixion.
Meanwhile,
the pastor's friends said his death was a coincidence and
had nothing to do with the violent scenes showing Jesus
being savagely beaten by Roman legionnaires. Incidentally,
this is the second death related to the film reported worldwide.
Earlier, Peggy Law Scott, 57, fainted during the crucifixion
scenes in a movie theatre in Wichita, Kansas last month.
She was taken to a hospital and later died from a heart
attack.
The Passion of the Christ saved lightning-struck
Caviezel (Go
To Top)
London:
Talk about divine intervention! Jim Caviezel was struck
by lightning as he prepared for the crucifixion scene in
controversial film 'The Passion of the Christ'. According
to a report in 'The Sun', the bolt lit up his body and sent
the cast and crew around him to the ground. And all present
thought that the man who plays Jesus in Mel Gibson's movie
was dead. However, much to everyone else's surprise, the
35-year old actor remained completely unharmed. Mel Gibson,
the writer and director of the flick, also believed that
the incident was a complete miracle, reasserting his belief
that God had guided him to pick Jim for the starring role.
"God was around while we were making the film. I got lit
up like a Christmas tree. People said they saw fire on both
sides of my head and a light around me," the report quoted
Caviezel as saying. "All I know is I heard everyone going,
'What the heck happened?' My hair was standing up," he added.
Jim
had to endure a lot of physical torture while shooting for
the film. Apart from carrying the symbolic cross on a dislocated
shoulder, was flogged so brutally he has a 14-inch scar
on his back and he became seriously ill with pneumonia,
the report adds. Jim is also particular about shedding clothes
along with inhibitions on screen. His beliefs have caused
problems as he refuses to take part in scenes of explicit
sex or violence. He famously told J-Lo to put her clothes
back on when she stripped for the movie they starred in
together, 'Angel Eyes'. "I have issues with gratuitous violence
and sex. When I have studios forcing it down my throat,
I won't do it - because I have to answer to God," the "Thin
Red Line" star said.
Kylie
Minogue's pay is 1.2 million pounds a year (Go
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London:
Pop star Kylie Minogue is paid 1.2 million pounds a
year, according to her company's accounts. According to
a report in the Mirror, Kylie's dad Ron, who runs Darenote
Ltd with Kylie's mum Carole, said that the business had
a very successful year in 2001 as the firm earned 2.8 million
pounds for the year to March 2002. Darenote, which owns
the singer's 1 million pounds London home, paid nearly 160,000
pounds in pension and National Insurance sums, 48,000 pounds
in expenses and a 51,000 pounds tax bill. It also paid off
200,000 pounds in loans and gave 3,500 pounds to charity.
The report says that the bumper earnings came less than
four years after the pop sensation's career was in the doldrums
and the firm lost 43,000 pounds. Then Kylie's single 'Can't
Get You Out of My Head' sold four million worldwide and
saved the company from complete financial mess. Since then
two hectic years followed but Kylie said last month that
she enjoys the fast and hectic pace of her life. "I enjoy
hard work but if I had another two years like the previous
two, I might start not to like it so much," the report quoted
Kylie as saying.
Elvis
Presley's Scottish roots traced (Go
To Top)
London:
A Scottish village, Lonmay, is about to be besieged
by Elvis Presley's fans following claims that his ancestors
came from there. According to a report in the Sun, author
Allan Morrison has traced Elvis's roots back 300 years to
Lonmay near Aberdeen. Records show that an Andrew Presley
wed Elspeth Leg there in 1713 and their son, also Andrew,
was the first Presley to hit America. Morrison, 61, of Greenock
has claimed that Elvis, who had a hit with 'Jailhouse Rock',
is a direct descendant of the Presley family of Scotland.
"I was able to trace his family tree, and when it got back
to Lonmay it was like striking gold," said Morrison. Interestingly,
the area is still thick with Presleys, including 70-year
old Jim Presly of Oldmeldrum, says the report. Jim, whose
ancestors dropped an "e", said, "I think there is some truth
in this." "This could be great for the area," said a beaming
tourist board boss, Ian Dunlop. Moreover, fan club spokesman
Paul Downie, 43, said excitedly, "For years fans have thought
there was a connection with Scotland."
Brosnan
blasts Bond bosses (Go
To Top)
London:
Pierce Brosnan, the dashing and debonair face synonymous
with James Bond 007, has launched a bitter attack on the
hit spy series and the bosses who make it. Speculation is
rife that Brosnan feels betrayed because he fears the movie
makers have frozen him out while looking for a new leading
man. Brosnan, now 50, has played Bond in the last four films,
including "The World is not Enough", "Tomorrow Never Dies",
"Golden Eye" and "Die Another Day." X-Men superhero Hugh
Jackman is a favourite, with Colin Farrell, Lord of the
Rings star Orlando Bloom and Ewan McGregor also in the frame
for the new Bond film, provisionally titled Bond 21.
Pierce
believes that part of the problem is that the series has
advanced so much technically, that the creators don't know
what to do next. "The bar for these movies was raised so
high with the last one (Die Another Day) and they don't
seem to know how to improve on it," Brosnan was quoted by
The Sun, as saying. Brosnan accuses the producers, the legendary
Broccoli family, who have been producing the Bond films
since the first - Dr. No in 1962, of ruining the movies
with too many special effects and not enough plot. "They
don't have a script or a director so the rumours that we
will begin filming in the autumn are just rumours," he said.
Brosnan
also complains that the producers do not show more imagination
in expanding the movies with more plot and characters. "They're
too scared. They feel they have to top themselves in a genre
which is just spectacle and a huge bang for your buck. But
I think you can have your cake and eat it," he said. "You
can have real character work, a character storyline and
a thriller aspect and all the kinds of quips, asides, the
explosions and the women" he added. "We're just saturated
with too many overblown action films with no plot," he complained
further. But, he says, Die Another Day was going well until
the producers went down the old special effects route which
was "formulaic and safe".
