This might not be the typical expat blog, written by a German expat, living in the Philippines since 1999. It's different. In English and in German. Check it out! Enjoy reading!
Dies mag' nun wirklich nicht der typische Auswandererblog eines Deutschen auf den Philippinen sein. Er soll etwas anders sein. In Englisch und in Deutsch! Viel Spass beim Lesen!
You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?
There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!
Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!
Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!
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Showing posts with label Associated Press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Associated Press. Show all posts
NEW YORK (AP) — After a well-reviewed emcee debut, the Golden Globes are bringing back comedian Nikki Glaser to host the 2026 ceremony.
Dick Clark Productions, the producer of the award show, announced Thursday that Glaser will return for the 83rd Globes next January. Glaser, the first woman to host the show solo, successfully shepherded a ceremony she called “Ozempic’s biggest night.”
“Hosting the Golden Globes this year was without a doubt the most fun I have ever had in my career,” said Glaser in a statement. “I can’t wait to do it again, and this time in front of the team from ‘The White Lotus’ who will finally recognize my talent and cast me in Season Four as a Scandinavian Pilates instructor with a shadowy past.”
The Globes, in which the top awards went to the films “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Pérez” and the TV series “Shōgun” and “Hacks,” drew 9.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen, a 2% dip from the year prior. Like this year’s broadcast, next year’s Globes will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
“Nikki Glaser brought a refreshing spark and fearless wit to the Golden Globes stage this year,” said Globes President Helen Hoehne. “Her sharp humor, and bold presence set the tone for an unforgettable night, making the ceremony feel vibrant and most of all fun.”
The Spirit Awards, held in a beachside tent in Santa Monica, California, is the shaggier, more irreverent sister to the Academy Awards, celebrating the best in independent film and television.
Mikey Madison (AP)
CALIFORNIA (AP) - Sean Baker’s “Anora” won best film, best director and best actor for Mikey Madison at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday in what could be a preview of next Sunday’s Oscars: The film about a Brooklyn sex worker and her whirlwind affair with a Russian oligarch’s son has emerged in recent weeks as an awards season front-runner.
The Spirit Awards, held in a beachside tent in Santa Monica, California, is the shaggier, more irreverent sister to the Academy Awards, celebrating the best in independent film and television.
Host Aidy Bryant called it “Hollywood’s third or fourth biggest night.”
In accepting the directing prize, Baker spoke passionately about the difficulty of making independent films in an industry that is no longer able to fund riskier films. He said indies are in danger of becoming calling card films — movies made only as a means to get hired for bigger projects.
“The system has to change because this is simply unsustainable,” Baker said to enthusiastic applause. “We shouldn’t be barely getting by.”
“Anora’s” best film competition included Jane Schoenbrun’s psychological horror “I Saw the TV Glow,” RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s “Nickel Boys,” Greg Kwedar’s incarceration drama “Sing Sing” and Coralie Fargeat’s body horror “The Substance.”
This year had several other possible Oscar winners celebrating. Kieran Culkin, considered an Oscar favorite, won the supporting performance award for “A Real Pain.” His director, co-star and writer Jesse Eisenberg won best screenplay for the film about two cousins embarking on a Holocaust tour in Poland.
Culkin was not there to accept — he also missed his BAFTA win last weekend to tend to a family member — but other Oscar nominees like Madison and Demi Moore were.
Madison won the top acting prize over Moore at the BAFTAs last weekend, as well, and stopped Saturday to pet Moore’s dog Pilaf on the way to the stage. Acting categories for the Spirit Awards are gender neutral and include 10 spots each, meaning Madison and Moore were up against Oscar nominees like Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) and Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”).
The documentary prize went to “No Other Land,” the lauded film by a Palestinian-Israeli collective about the destruction of a village in the West Bank which doesn’t have distribution. It’s also a strong Oscar contender in a competitive category. The filmmakers were not in attendance to accept the award.
“Flow,” the wordless animated Latvian cat film, won best international film. At the Oscars, it’s competing in the international film category and animation.
While the Spirit Award winners don’t always sync up with the academy, they can often reflect a growing consensus as in the “Everything Everywhere All At Once” year. The awards limit eligibility to productions with budgets of $30 million or less, meaning more expensive Oscar nominees like “Wicked” and “Dune: Part Two” were not in the running.
Sean Wang accepted best first feature and best first screenplay prizes for “Dìdi.” He said it was special to be sharing the stage with one of his stars, Joan Chen, who was also nominated for the same award 25 years ago for “Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.”
Rothwell said it was “a show about the need to feel seen, to be valued just as you are.”
“For Black stories, visibility isn’t a privilege: It is a necessity,” Rothwell said. “We deserve to take up space, to be complex, to be hilarious and to be fully human.”
The generally lighthearted show took a moment to acknowledge the impact of the wildfires on Los Angeles. Bryant made a plea to anyone watching the show, in the audience or on the YouTube livestream, to help rebuild L.A. She pointed to a QR code that appeared on the livestream to make donations to the Film Independent Emergency Filmmaker Relief Fund, providing grants to alumni impacted by the wildfires.
The show also paid tribute to longtime Film Independent president Josh Welsh, who died earlier this year at age 62. Welsh had colon cancer.
Bryant said in her opening that it had been a “great year for film and a bad year for human life.” The “Saturday Night Live” alum kicked off the event ribbing some of the nominees, like Emma Stone.
“Emma was a producer on four nominated projects tonight,” Bryant said. “But even more importantly, her hair is short now.”
Stone also featured prominently in Eisenberg’s speech, when he picked up the best screenplay prize for “A Real Pain.” Since they met on the set of “Zombieland” in 2009, he said, she’s been supportive of his writing despite being “the most famous person I know” and produced both of his films.
“I think of her not as my producer, but as a fairy godmother, like I’m riding the coattails for her goodwill,” Eisenberg said.
The camera cut to Stone, teary and moved, in the audience. She and her husband Dave McCary’s production company Fruit Tree also produced Julio Torres’ “Problemista” and “Fantasmas” and Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow.”
“I Saw the TV Glow” went into the show tied with “Anora” with six nominations. It left with only one, for producer Sarah Winshall.
What could David have meant by ‘your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women?’ It is not surprising that many have wondered whether this suggests an intimate relationship.
DAVID AND JONATHAN Rembrandt's painting of King David and Jonathan on display at the Hermitage Museum in Russia
For the idea of love, biblical Hebrew has precious few synonyms. Yet the Hebrew of the Bible can communicate a rich sensation of love: the love of a man for a woman, the love of any human being for their fellow human, the love of Israel for Israel's God, and the love of God for all people.
As a religion scholar, however, I believe one of the greatest loves in the Bible is a story of friendship: the intense devotion between the warrior Jonathan and David, who later became king of Israel and Judah. For many readers, their relationship represents a platonic ideal, while others see something more.
‘With all your heart’
The main word for expressing love in the Hebrew Bible is ahavah, from the root ahav. It appears, for example, in the classic description of the relationship between God and Israel in the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 6: “You shall love (v’ahavta) the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
There are several places in the Hebrew Bible that demand that people care for one another, regardless of membership in any group, such as a tribe. Consider Leviticus 19:34, which invokes the Israelites’ suffering as slaves in Egypt: “You shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
The word ahav is also used to express emotional, romantic, and sexual love, as in Genesis 29, the story of Jacob and Rachel. The young man serves Laban, Rachel’s father, for seven years in exchange for her hand in marriage, which seem “but a few days because of his love for her.” But Laban tricks Jacob into marrying Rachel’s sister, Leah, first, then working another seven years for Rachel.
A BOY'S TRIUMPH David emerges victorious in his battle against Goliath (Illustration by Gustave Doré)
A steadfast love
Among the more passionate poems in the Hebrew Bible is one David is said to have pronounced for Jonathan and his father, Saul, the Israelite king.
The three first meet when David, portrayed as a young shepherd, volunteers to fight Goliath, who is portrayed as a towering giant of a soldier, a champion of the Philistines battling Israel. Shockingly, David slays him with a simple sling and stone, and Saul meets with the boy.
“After David finished speaking to Saul,” the author of 1 Samuel relates, “the body of Jonathan was bound to the body of David, and Jonathan loved him as he loved his own self.” The Hebrew word I translate as “body” here is a famously ambiguous one, nefesh, usually rendered as “soul,” “life,” or “personality.”
Many translators read this passage to mean that Jonathan and David form a covenant, a pact. Jonathan immediately removes his clothing and weapons and gives them to the other young man.
Their loyalty is tested as Saul becomes jealous of David’s increasing success. Yet the young men’s bond is steadfast.
DAVID AND SAUL A young David playing the harp to soothe King Saul (Painting by Julius Kronberg)
Jonathan eventually dies in battle, and Saul commits suicide. David composes a beautiful eulogy poem mourning both men, but his description of Jonathan is particularly striking:
“Jonathan lies slain upon your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!:
The passage uses a rare synonym for ahav when it describes Jonathan as “greatly beloved”—na’am, suggesting “love,” “affection,” or “pleasantness.”
Labeling love
What could David have meant by “your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women?” It is not surprising that many have wondered whether this suggests an intimate relationship.
That would appear to contradict prohibitions on homosexuality found in the Book of Leviticus. One thing to consider, however, is that Leviticus is devoted to priestly concerns. The prohibition is not found in the Book of Deuteronomy, which repeats so many of the prohibitions found in Leviticus. Another question is whether we really know what the Levitical language means: What exactly is being prohibited here?
One thing we can say with certainty is that LGBTQ+ love and identities have existed throughout human history, regardless of what they are called. Various cultures have been more or less sympathetic to sexual variation, but that variation has always been there.
David had many wives. Indeed, one of the most famous stories about him is his depravity in condemning a soldier, Uriah the Hittite, to a brutal death so that David could take Uriah’s wife, Bat-Sheva, as his own. But who’s to say whether David might have been open to an intimate relationship with a man he essentially called his lover?
David’s life was fraught with tragedy, and his family infamous for scandal – perhaps none greater than the tale of his son Amnon raping his half-sister Tamar. Nevertheless, tradition reveres him as the greatest king of Israel and Judah, the author of beautiful poetry and the father of King Solomon, who is credited with the ultimate biblical love poem, the Song of Songs.
I’d like to give the final word to the sages of the Mishnah, rabbinic literature written around the year 250 C.E.: “All love that depends on something, when that something ceases, the love fails; but all love that does not depend on anything will never cease. What is an example of love that depended on something? Such was the love of Amnon for Tamar. And what is an example of love that did not depend on anything? Such was the love of David and Jonathan.” (AP | The Conversation)
One of the early year’s standout successes has been Sony Pictures’ “One of Them Days,” the R-rated comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA.
A scene from 'Dog Man' (Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — DreamWorks Animation’s “Dog Man” fetched $36 million in ticket sales at the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday, making it the biggest debut yet in 2025.
It was a big opening for the Universal Pictures release adapted from the popular graphic novel series by author Dav Pilkey. The big-screen launch for the cartoon canine was produced for a modest $40 million, meaning it will easily coast through a profitable run. Audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore.
Only one animated film before has had a better January launch: 2016’s “Kung Fu Panda 3.” “Dog Man,” though, was soft overseas, collecting $4.2 million from 29 international markets. The voice cast of the Peter Hastings-directed movie is led by Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery and Isla Fisher.
Family movies last year buoyed the box office, with PG-rated films accounting for $2.9 billion, or 33 percent of all ticket revenue, according to data firm Comscore. So far, they’re lifting 2025, too. The Walt Disney Co.’s December release “Mufasa: The Lion King” topped the weekend box office three times in January. In its seventh week of release, “Mufasa” held in third place with another $6.1 million, bringing its global tally to $653 million.
“The PG animation family film wave that was so prevalent in ’24 continues in ’25,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.
The horror comedy “Companion,” from Warner Bros. and New Line, also opened well, with $9.5 million in 3,285 locations. Drew Hancock’s sci-fi tinged film set in the near future is about a group of friends on a weekend lakeside getaway.
“Companion,” starring Sophie Thatcher ( “Heretic” ), was lightly marketed and made for just $10 million. It will depend on glowing reviews (94 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and strong word of mouth (a “B+” CinemaScore) to keep drawing moviegoers in the coming weeks.
Last week’s top film, Mel Gibson’s “Flight Risk,” dropped steeply in its second weekend. The action thriller starring Mark Wahlberg fell to fifth place with $5.6 million. Domestically, it has collected $20.9 million for Lionsgate.
One of the early year’s standout successes has been Sony Pictures’ “One of Them Days,” the R-rated comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA. Though comedies have had a hard time in theaters in recent years, “One of Them Days” has proven a exception. The well-reviewed movie earned $5.6 million over the weekend, bringing its three-week total to $34.5 million – a stellar result for a movie that cost $14 million to make.
Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
Take Sabrina Carpenter,who finds herself nominated for best new artist this year — on her sixth full-length release. There’s little doubt that the “Espresso” singer ruled the airwaves in 2024, but she was already making a mark on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as early as 2021 with the No. 48 song “Skin.”
Sabrina Carpenter (Images courtesy of Associated Press)
NEW YORK (AP) — When is something old considered new? If you’re talking about the Grammy Awards, that’s often whoever lands in the best new artist category, easily the weirdest of the races.
Take Sabrina Carpenter, who finds herself nominated for best new artist this year — on her sixth full-length release. There’s little doubt that the “Espresso” singer ruled the airwaves in 2024, but she was already making a mark on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as early as 2021 with the No. 48 song “Skin.”
The category of new artist is constantly evolving, trying to capture the zeitgeist each year as the process of categorizing fame gets more complicated, from raw LP sales in the 1970s to TikTok videos today.
“I do think that they are constantly tweaking that category to make a bigger splash with it,” said Theo Cateforis, director of undergraduate studies in music history at Syracuse University. “They are kind of gaming the system to say, ‘Yes, we want artists nominated for this category who will draw eyeballs, who will have an audience, who will make for a better kind of media representation.’”
The Grammy rules currently say nominations hinge on whether “the artist had attained a breakthrough or prominence” — and it delegates that determination to a screening committee. Eligible artists must have released at least five singles or one album, but there is no longer a maximum.
Under those rules, Carpenter fits. She had three top 10 hits in 2024 — “Espresso,” “Please Please Please” and “Taste” — and her album “Short n’ Sweet” spent four weeks at No. 1. Suddenly she was very prominent.
“I’ve got to confess, even as a pop music scholar, I wasn’t talking about Sabrina Carpenter’s fifth album, but I was talking about her sixth album,” said Joe Bennett, a forensic musicologist at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Green Day
A history of dubious
The Grammys have long stretched the meaning of “new” into a pretzel. Cyndi Lauper won best new artist in 1984 despite having released an album with the band Blue Angel four years before. Green Day were nominated after “Dookie,” but that was the trio’s third album.
Bennett recalls teaching a songwriting class that featured Amy Winehouse’s first album “Frank” in 2003 — a full five years before she would win the crown for best new artist. Bon Iver won on their second album and Esperanza Spalding won after her third. Chance the Rapper walked up to accept the Grammy for best new artist in 2017 with a baseball cap that had a “3” stitched on it — the number of albums he’d created by then.
That loosey-goosey nature is in stark contrast to the strict past, when Whitney Houston famously wasn’t deemed eligible for best new artist in 1986 because she had already recorded duets with other artists.
Some best new artist candidates are really fresh, but that’s rare. Lil Nas X is one example — his major label debut EP contained “Old Town Road” in 2019 and a year later he was at the Grammys. Or Olivia Rodrigo, whose debut “Sour” came out in 2021 and helped her be crowned best new artist in 2022.
“I think a large part of the issue is that it’s just a poorly named category,” said Jasmine Henry, a musicologist and sound engineer who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania. “I think the way the public conceives of this category is as best debut artist award. And the reality is that it’s really a breakout award in its function.”
Esperanza Spalding wins best new artist award in 2011.
Lady Gaga leads the change
The rules for best new artist last came under a harsh spotlight in 2009 when Lady Gaga was barred from the category because her first single, “Just Dance,” had been nominated for best dance recording the year before.
The rules back then said best new artist nominees couldn’t appear on any Grammy-nominated recording, even if they were a feature. Under the 2010 revised rules, artists were eligible for the best new artist prize unless they had previously released an album or already won a Grammy.
In 2016, the Recording Academy updated its eligibility requirements again, “to remove the album barrier given current trends in how new music and developing artists are released and promoted.” In 2019, it expanded the number of nominations to include eight artists instead of five. In 2021, it removed the maximum amount of musical output — 30 singles or tracks or three albums.
“Best new artist is now viewed — and rightly, in my opinion — through the eyes of public opinion, not through some strictly applied set of grubby numerical criteria,” said Bennett.
The current rules also allow best new artist nominees who were formerly in a duo or groups, ”provided the duo/group had not attained prominence.”
That means three past winners for best new artist — 1970’s Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1988’s Jody Watley and 1999’s Lauryn Hill — likely wouldn’t be eligible. David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash were all already known for their work in previous groups, as were Watley (in Shalamar) and Hill (the Fugees).
These days, there’s a certain career momentum that best new artist nominees share, said Henry. It’s a mix of red-hot singles and virality.
“We usually see the breakout song and then we’ll see them do a Tiny Desk Concert, and then they may open up for Taylor Swift and have a viral moment. And then they’re probably going to be on ‘Saturday Night Live’ or late night,” she said. “You can really see that trajectory crystallizing over the last decade.”
Best new artist 2025 nominees
In addition to Carpenter, this year’s best new artist nominees are: Benson Boone; Doechii; Khruangbin; RAYE; Chappell Roan; Shaboozey and Teddy Swims.
‘We were all flabbergasted’
Carpenter isn’t the only act that got a best new artist nod after years of touring and album releases. So too was Khruangbin, a Texas trio that formed in 2010.
They got their nomination following the release “A La Sala,” their well-received fourth studio album that reached the top 40 of the Billboard 200, but not as high as their 2022 EP with Leon Bridges, the No. 23 “Texas Moon.”
The band was at soundcheck before a concert in Berlin when news broke that they’d been nominated. They came offstage to congratulatory texts and a bouquet of flowers.
“We were all flabbergasted,” said bassist Laura Lee.
None of the members were aware they were up for a Grammy and drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson researched how they became best new artist candidates. He understood it by explaining Carpenter’s inclusion.
“She’s been around for a minute, but ‘Espresso’ kind of made a big impact this year. I can definitely see she’s by no means a quote-unquote new artist. But to most people who didn’t know who she was, at a certain point, she’s new,” he said.
The 67th Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 2 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The show will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. For more coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/grammy-awards.
