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Civil-union poster couple part Award-winning musician Anika Moa (left) has separated from her civil-union partner Angela Fyfe. The two have 2-year-old boys, Taane Diamond and Barry Kowhai. Moa and Fyfe - a burlesque dancer also known as Azaria Universe - became the poster couple for gay marriage equality and celebrated a civil union in February 2010. Moa, 33, declined to comment on the break-up, which has come at the end of what she had earlier described as a tough year. She had previously written about the stresses of parenthood “exploding like a sad bomb” around her. She said she had “learned the hard way” how difficult it was having children. It is understood the split is amicable, and she and Fyfe are sharing the care of their sons.
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Monday, December 9, 2013
Favourable reviews for second Hobbit film International critics are praising Sir Peter Jackson’s second instalment of the Hobbit trilogy. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has premiered in Los Angeles and will be released at Australian cinemas on Boxing Day. The first Hobbit movie was widely criticised for its slow pace. Hollywood Reporter writer Todd McCarthy said nearly everything about the second movie was an improvement. “Jackson gets the drama in gear here from the outset with a sense of storytelling that possesses palpable energy and purpose.” The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw gave the film four out of five stars describing it as a “cheerfully entertaining and exhilarating adventure tale”.
Boyle reveals she has Asperger’s Scottish singer Susan Boyle (right) has revealed that she has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. Boyle, a 52-year-old church volunteer who became a global singing sensation, told Britain’s Observer newspaper she had been diagnosed a year ago and spoke of her relief after years of bullying for her learning difficulties. “It was the wrong diagnosis when I was a kid,” she said. “I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label. Now I have a clearer understanding of what’s wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself.” Boyle shot to fame on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. A devout Catholic and lifelong singleton who lived on welfare handouts, she became an overnight sensation after her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from the musical Les Miserables went viral on the internet.
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Richards’ last artwork discovered A never-before-seen painting by Rolling Stones rocker Keith Richards (below) has been stashed in a drawer in a swanky Auckland bed and breakfast for the past seven years. The watercolour is expected to cause a stir internationally, with experts saying it could be worth several hundred thousand dollars. The guitarist, who turns 70 this month, painted it while recuperating at Auckland’s Cotter House in 2006 after falling out of a tree in Fiji. He gave it to owner Gloria Poupard-Walbridge as a parting gift - but she has kept if off the walls at her Remuera lodge because she says Richards’ signature, penned in a thick black marker, has ruined the picture. “It was pretty good picture until he signed it with a felt pen and stuffed it up.” The hostess said it had been consigned to a drawer beneath some linen because she couldn’t bring herself to frame it. “I am surrounded by beautiful objects and I don’t want to seem offensive but I have so much beautiful art I don’t have enough room to hang other art that isn’t worthy.” Painted on a $3.95 canvas, the pastel and watercolour depicts a water scene at sunset, with a steamship at full throttle. Seagulls soar above the ship, the smoke effect created by careful artistic smudging.
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Mary Poppins statue A life-sized statue of Mary Poppins has been unveiled in Bowral in NSW’s Southern Highlands, the one-time home of author PL Travers who created the popular childrens’ book and film character. The statue was unveiled yesterday by local children, NSW Governor Marie Bashir and federal parliamentary secretary for industry Bob Baldwin. It’s hoped it will prove a major draw for international tourists. Mr Baldwin said the federal government had awarded a $26,000 grant to the Southern Highlands Youth Arts Council to help fund the statue. PL Travers lived in Bowral between 1907 and 1917 and the statue aims to capture her original vision of Mary Poppins. To create the statue, the local community commissioned Australian artist Tanya Bartlett, who moulded the life-sized statue of cricketer Sir Donald Bradman in Bowral.
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