Curtain

The moment Tom Cruise, recently re-throned King of Hollywood, decided to publicly boycott the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, it might have been wise to call it a day, the Maverick seal of disapproval hammering with nails a coffin already almost closed shut. But the HFPA, the controversial group behind the Golden Globes, didn’t flinch at the actor’s snub when he handed back his prior awards in May 2021, and instead soldiered on, for better or worse.Cruise was one of many big names protesting against the problematic…

The iron curtain bisected Europe from north to south between 1945 and 1989. It defined the continent, and in many ways the entire world, because of the ideological battles that raged across it. The realm of capitalism and representational democracy dominated to the west; the realm of communism and one-party rule to the east.Crossing the curtain in either direction was always an undertaking, and for millions was both illegal and impossible. The nuclear might and conventional armed forces of all major powers were focused on…

Jin, the eldest member of the South Korean music group BTS, on Tuesday morning said his goodbyes to several fans across the globe as he enlisted for his mandatory military duty. The 30-year-old vocalist took to fan community forum Weverse to share his message for ARMY-- the fan group of BTS-- before he left for his service. "Now it`s curtain call time," he wrote in Korean in reference to a character called `Jhin` in the video game `League of Legends`. "I wanted to do it when I went to the army," said Jin, who…

At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsFits 15mm-40mm diameter polesWorks with a variety of curtain and rod typesEasy Bluetooth connectionConsTwo needed for a set of curtainsSeparate hub needed for Wi-Fi set upNo battery indicator on unitOur VerdictThe Curtain Rod 2 can be a bit fiddly, but it’s a clever bit of tech to turn your curtains smart. It won’t work for every window though, and it’s not the most attractive addition to one. Best Prices Today: SwitchBot Curtain Rod 2…

After nine months of trying to maintain an awkward neutrality, Russia’s most successful tech company wants to take sides in the Ukraine war—both of them. On Friday, Nasdaq-listed Yandex said it is reviewing options to restructure its ownership. It sketched out a split of the company into two parts, one acceptable in the U.S. and Europe and the other in Moscow. Although the move defies financial logic, Yandex in its current, globe-spanning form no longer works politically.…

“Did you think this is a nice genre? It’s not,” says Trevor Taylor, singer with the formidable guitar band Crown Court. He is talking about Oi! – the ultra-aggressive post-punk musical movement that is enjoying a resurgence worldwide. Specifically, Taylor is referring to the capacity for many of the original early-80s Oi! bands to break up abruptly when members were sent to prison.“Oi! is violent, tough, ugly music made by people from that background,” Taylor says. “I’m not trying to justify armed robbery but these things…

Months into its war against Ukraine, Moscow continues to let its own citizens access YouTube, leaving a conspicuous hole in its effort to control what Russians see and hear about the conflict. YouTube’s availability in Russia has continued for longer than some Google executives themselves initially expected, according to people familiar with the matter, especially given that the Silicon Valley giant has irked Moscow during the war. YouTube has suspended hundreds of channels run by Kremlin-affiliated entities…

Curtain Call 2 is here. Nearly two decades ago, Eminem released Curtain Call: The Hits, a collection of his greatest songs from his first few studio albums (The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show, and Encore). The follow-up finds Em pulling cuts from Recovery, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Revival, Kamikaze, and Music to Be Murdered By, paying homage to those five projects on the cover art. The double-disc release features 35 tracks spanning more than a decade, with appearances by Beyoncé, Rihanna, Juice…

The mysteries trapped in the corners of the universe are far more exciting than anyone could ever imagine. With each passing day and month, astronomers find new riddles and solve them in what is as puzzling as they are delightful. Sometimes astronomers find things in a place they least expect them to be. And that's exactly what has happened with a group of astronomers looking for a simple sample of distant galaxies. Using radio waves, they discovered two “invisible” galaxies hiding behind a curtain of dust near the dawn…

Smart home company Aqara has released its retrofit curtain solution in the US and Europe. Previously available in China, the Aqara Curtain Driver E1 starts at $89.99 and mounts onto an existing curtain track or rod to automatically open and close your curtains. It works with Aqara’s own ecosystem as well as with Apple’s HomeKit, Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and IFTTT. Aqara says it will also be compatible with Matter when the new smart home standard arrives later this fall. Automating shades, blinds, and curtains is…