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Farrell proves that he is capable of more than just being a broody pretty boy and is capable of humor and light emotional depth. While Gleeson continues with his solid acting career, he is the film's emotional rock, completing the Laurel-and-Hardy dynamic between him and Farrell. Both do what they can with the script, but even their acting abilities cannot keep the pace of the film up. It is not until Fiennes shows up as Ken and Ray's disgruntled boss and starts to chew the scenery that the film truly starts to gain some amount of momentum in the final acts. Unfortunately, the film's remaining minutes hits the viewer over the head with the heavy-handed dichotomy between the fairy tale land of Bruges and brutish lifestyle of these three men. A village shoot-out occurs amid medieval buildings, fog and numerous people dressed in costumes, making for an actual fairy tale look.
Suffolk Dept. of Social Services owes LIPA $1.3M
Suffolk's Department of Social Services has run up $1.3 million in unpaid utility bills with Long Island Power Authority for power supplied to public assistance clients, with some of the arrears dating back as much as six months.
Both LIPA and department officials emphasize that none of the 2,000 recipients - whose bills are paid directly by the county agency - are in danger of being cut off from service. LIPA's top collection official, Arthur Abate, and Thomas DeJesu, LIPA's vice president of intergovernmental relations, will meet with Commissioner Janet DeMarzo next week over the delinquencies.
"From time to time, there have been arrears, which are dealt with at the midmanagement level, but this time we thought it prudent to reach out to the commissioner," said Edward Dumas, LIPA's vice president of communications and formerly County Executive Steve Levy's spokesman.
No Telecast, Red Carpet for the Golden Globes
ET has also learned that there will be no red carpet and no Globes parties either. "The 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards" NBC telecast and champagne dinner in The Beverly Hilton's International Ballroom is officially cancelled. The action was taken as a result of the writers strike, and followed SAG's announcement last Friday that its members would not cross a picket line. "We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007's outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television," said JORGE CAMARA, president of The Hollywood Foreign Press Association. "We take some comfort, however, in knowing that this year's Golden Globe Award recipients will be announced on the date originally scheduled." .
Fara fires England
Powell had made just one change to her team's starting line-up, Lianne Sanderson coming in to lead the attack with Kelly Smith stepping back into her usual role just behind the front line and midfielder Jill Scott dropping to the substitutes' bench.
Smith had the first goalscoring opportunity of the match, but as she met right-winger Karen Carney's cleverly flighted fourth- minute free-kick at the far post the striker miscued her volley well wide.
England continued probing, but some neat approach play failed to produce any further early chances and it was at the other end where Siobhan Chamberlain had to make the game's first save, a diving stop from Solveig Gulbrandsen's 23rd-minute effort.
Seven minutes later England should have taken the lead.
Special Olympians compete at ice rink in Mt. Lebo
Participants of the annual Special Olympics Figure Skating Tournament are awarded medals and wait for fellow skaters to join them Saturday at Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center. Back row, left to right, Cece Wagner and Kendra Ott; front, David Mulgrave, Ellen Siciliano, and Bobby Walsh. .
NSW deflects calls for solar subsidies
THE Sun King has had a vision, but the NSW Government has its own ideas. Zhengrong Shi, the Australian-trained solar energy scientist who has in seven years gone from an academic position at the University of NSW to become the richest person in mainland China, yesterday called on the Government to intervene in the state's energy market and subsidise solar panels on houses. Dr Shi urged the Premier, Morris Iemma, to adopt a system of "feed-in tariffs", in which people who generate solar energy at home can sell it back to the state grid at more than the market rate. Variations of the system work successfully in most European nations, Canada, Japan and China, leading to large increases in the number of people using solar power. "We want to see them do that, and I think they need to do that soon," Dr Shi told the Herald.
Mr. Right or no, it may be time to make yourself at home
Dating experts believe women who can afford to buy a home on their own shouldn't postpone a purchase until they find true love. But they allow that a fair number of women, including many traditionalists, would rather wait until they're hitched - or at least engaged - before they make a property purchase. "Some women hold back. To them, it doesn't seem natural to buy a house and settle down until after the man they love proposes. They're old-fashioned in that way," says Ellen Fein, co-author with Sherrie Schneider of "The Rules" books, a series of widely read primers on the art of capturing love and staying happily married (www.therulesbook.com). Fein and Schneider say women should hold out for true love and never gold-dig. Even so, they allow that some women - especially those living in high housing-cost areas - simply can't afford to buy a home on a single salary.
AP News Wires
Kasey Harlos scored 14 points and defending Class 2A state champion Poth earned a return trip to the title game with a 54-42 semifinals victory over Woodville on Friday. Consecutive 3-pointers by M'Lis Kilgore sparked a 17-4 run over the third and fourth quarters that built a 48-32 lead. Kilgore and Kelsey Titzman each scored 13 points for Poth, with Kilgore hitting four of her team's eight 3-pointers. Poth lost in the state semifinals three straight times from 2004-2006 before finally breaking through with a double-overtime win last over Winnsboro last season. Kilgore hit the shot to force the first overtime in the championship game and came up big again Friday with the 3-pointers that broke open a close game with Woodville Poth led 33-28 when Kilgore was left open on the left wing and swished the shot.
'Tweens' in sexual, abusive relationships
Sixth graders with boyfriends or girlfriends. Middle schoolers going on dates.
Not uncommon, says a new national survey released today.
Roughly half of 1,043 "tweens," aged 11 to 14, who participated in the study are now or have been in dating relationships, says the Tween and Teen Dating Violence and Abuse Survey conducted by the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) and Liz Claiborne Inc.
Perhaps more surprisingly, almost 30 percent of these young teens think oral sex and sexual intercourse are expected in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. And hundreds of tweens report that their dating partners have harassed them, bossed them around or tried to monopolize their time.
A few even report physical abuse, such as hitting, slapping or kicking, or being pressured into having oral sex or intercourse.
Arab League chief resumes Lebanon talks
ARAB League chief Amr Mussa resumed talks with rival political leaders in Lebanon overnight in a bid to break a deadlock that has left the country without a president for three months. Mr Mussa hosted a meeting yesterday bringing together two leading members of the Western-backed ruling coalition, parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri and former president Amin Gemayel, with Michel Aoun, a Christian leader in the Syrian-backed opposition. The four-hour meeting ended at midnight (9am AEDT Monday) with no agreement between the parties on how to end a political crisis that has paralysed the government and led to mounting communal tensions. Today's meeting came on the eve of a fresh attempt in parliament to elect a new president. Fourteen attempts to hold a vote have been cancelled, triggering Lebanon worst internal crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Community Extra Calendar
Free community health fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, City of Refuge Christian Church, 4411 76th St. NE, Marysville. Call 360-658-8348 or go to www.thecityofrefuge.net.
Pancake, french toast and waffle breakfast, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Snohomish Senior Center, lower level, St. Michael's Catholic Church. Cost $4 adults, $3 children. Proceeds help support the 44 programs and services offered at the center.
Janet Lee Carey's World of Dragons and Fantasy, a program for students in fourth grade through high school, is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, Everett Public Library auditorium, 2702 Hoyt Ave., Everett. Seattle author will do dramatic readings and present her latest book, "Dragon's Keep."
Everett Elks Lodge 479 is holding its annual soccer shoot competition, 10 a.m.
Japan's Car Makers Get Creative to Woo the Young
Having grown up with the Internet, they no longer depend on a car for shopping, entertainment and socializing and prefer to spend their money in other ways. A survey last year of 1,700 Japanese in their 20s and 30s by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's biggest business newspaper, discovered that only 25% of Japanese men in their 20s wanted a car, down from 48% in 2000. The manufacturers' association found that men 29 years old and younger made up 11% of Japanese drivers in 2005, roughly half the size of that group in 1993. The streets of Harajuku are filled with consumers like 20-year-old Kazuto Matsui. "Young people can borrow their parents' car, and I think they'd rather spend money on PCs or iPods than cars," says the student with shaggy hair who is in no rush to get a driver's license.
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