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When Annie Nightingale, who has died aged 83, first approached the BBC in the hope of getting on the radio, she was instantly rebuffed. Her qualifications were inarguable: as a young journalist working in local news in the early 1960s, she had interviewed the Beatles, and had gone on to host the pop culture show That’s for Me, where she booked then little-known bands such as the Yardbirds, and had appeared on the Friday night rock and pop series Ready Steady Go! But when she met BBC bosses about hosting her own radio…

The Golden Globes, the phoniest of the (almost) major screen awards, having briefly died on the operating table, was shocked back to life Sunday, its resurrection made available to the interested public over new home CBS and its streaming sister, Paramount+.As detailed, if not instigated, by this paper, the Globes’ former administrators, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., finally dissolved in a flurry of bad publicity over an extreme lack of diversity among its relatively minuscule, dubiously credentialed, infamously…

The Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) is $199 following New Year's Day.  Kayla Solino/ZDNETApple's popular watch wearables made headlines quite a bit as 2023 came to a close, and despite already saying goodbye to last year, the savings on Apple's tried-and-true watches we saw over the last few months are coming with us into 2024. More: Apple Watch 9 and Ultra 2 sales resume as court pauses banApple's Watch Series 9 saw several price drops during the holiday shopping season, as did other models like the Ultra, Ultra 2, and…

Belgian superstar Lost Frequencies has teamed up with Bastille for the first time for new single ‘Head Down’. Following on from the album ‘All Stand Together’, which included the number one hit ‘Where Are You Know’ and the single ‘The Feeling’, the new song is an exclusive addition to the Lost Frequencies’ third album.  ‘Head Down’ is described as ‘soul-opening and passionate, taking twists and turns of genteel keys and a deep, bold melody, tales of “hearts break, life can knock you to the ground / don’t hang…

The 135th Rose Parade is set to kick off Monday as the world ushers in the start of 2024.With its petal-packed floats, marching bands and high-stepping horses, the New Year’s Day event is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. and will travel 5 1/2 miles along the streets of Pasadena.The theme this year is “Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language,” a message of hope and harmony in a time of war, labor strikes, and partisan political strife as a contentious American election year begins.“In a world of different…

At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsLightweight, maneuverable, and easy to controlSucks up 90 percent of the dirty water, so the floor dries without leaving a hazeCompetitively pricedConsShort run time on High mode, and you can’t swap out a drained battery for a fresh oneBattery requires 3-6 hours to rechargeEureka could void your warranty for using another maker’s specialty cleaning agentLacks a hard brush head option for scrubbing ground-in dirtOur VerdictEureka! The New400 Wet/Dry Vacuum eliminates the mess and…

Picks of the weekScottee: Self HelpWidely available, weekly from New Year’s DayCabaret artist and activist Scottee has tried many mental health solutions over the years. Now he promises “an amateur’s guide to staying alive … fuelled by class, queerness and fatness”. His podcast is an antidote to what he describes as “delusional positivity”. Framing sanity as a house of cards, looking at how self-pity could help with healing, and showing how capitalism has exploited sadness, it’s thoughtful, helpful and forthright. Hannah…

I’ve already watched “New Year’s Eve,” starring none other than Sarah Jessica Parker and Zac Efron, but I’m still craving more New Year flicks. I feel like this should be a bigger subgenre. Luckily, L.A. is packed with NYE events to fill the void. I’m Steven Vargas, your L.A. Goes Out host, and here are the top events for the upcoming weekend recommended by the crew (sign up here for the newsletter):13 events to start 2024 Gloria Molina Grand Park’s NYELA event includes a lineup of DJs, family…

Mortal Kombat 1 now enters Season 3: The Cryomancer, the iciest of them all. This latest season features new content and rewards like ice-themed character skins and Sub-Zero boss battles in Invasion Mode. Quan Chi, the newest DLC fighter, and Krossplay also arrive with this season's tidings.Quan Chi hasn't been a playable character in a main Mortal Kombat title since Mortal Kombat X. The Netherrealm demon often stars as an antagonist in the series alongside the likes of Shang Tsung, known for his…

Lead developers on Baldur’s Gate 3 have spoken about what they want the success of the game to do for RPGs. The developers spoke to GQ about the game before The Game Awards, with lead systems designer Nick Pechenin saying that he wants to “see people go off in all kinds of weird tangents, trying to look for how we improve this” while writing director Adam Smith wants the game to “kick the doors open”. “If you look at the indie space, RPGs never went away. People can go to a publisher and say, ‘Well, look what it fucking…