Thursday, June 25, 2020 Dhul-Qa’da 4, 1441 AH

Doha today: 330 - 410

RINGING IN THE NEW: Space Perspective, introduced during a video news conference last Thursday, plans a 650-foot-tall balloon that will lift a capsule of eight passengers up to 100,000 feet above Earth.

Cover Space-fically Story A new company planning to launch passengers from dangling from a balloon. P4-5

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My Spy is The Last of Us Part 2 is a horror formulatic fluff. game and that’s why it hurts. Page 14 Page 16 2 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 25, 2020 COMMUNITY ROUND & ABOUT

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PRAYER TIME Fajr 3.14am Shorooq (sunrise) 4.47am Zuhr (noon) 11.38am Asr (afternoon) 3.01pm Maghreb (sunset) 6.29pm Isha (night) 7.59pm

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Emergency 999 Worldwide Emergency Number 112 Kahramaa – Electricity and Water 991 Local Directory 180 International Calls Enquires 150 Hamad International Airport 40106666 Labor Department 44508111, 44406537 Mowasalat Taxi 44588888 Qatar Airways 44496000 Hamad Medical Corporation 44392222, 44393333 Qatar General Electricity and Modern Love been a date. An unconventional new family. These are unique Water Corporation 44845555, 44845464 CAST: Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey, Andy Garcia stories about the joys and tribulations of love, each inspired Primary Health Care Corporation 44593333 SYNOPSIS: An unlikely friendship. A lost love resurfaced. by a real-life personal essay from the beloved New York Times 44593363 A marriage at its turning point. A date that might not have column Modern Love. Qatar Assistive Technology Centre 44594050 Qatar News Agency 44450205 44450333 Q-Post – General Postal Corporation 44464444

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te Unqu uo ot Q e “One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” — George Herbert

The Expanse to find a missing young woman; Julie between Earth, and The Belt. Far DIRECTION: Mark Fergus, Hawk Mao (Florence Faivre). Meanwhile, away from the struggles in deep space, Community Editor Ostby James Holden (Steven Strait), the first on Earth, Chrisjen Avasarala (Shohreh Kamran Rehmat CAST: Steven Strait, Cas Anvar, officer of an ice freighter, is witness Aghdashloo), a powerful United Nations Dominique Tipper to an unprovoked attack upon the executive and diplomat, works to e-mail: [email protected] SYNOPSIS: Two hundred years in ship, by craft believed to be from Mars prevent war between Earth and Mars Telephone: 44466405 the future, in a fully colonised solar (MCRN Federation). As news of the by any means. Soon, the 3 find out the Fax: 44350474 system, police detective Josephus Miller attack spreads throughout the system, missing woman and the ice freighter’s (Thomas Jane), who was born in the the incident’s flow-on threatens to fate are part of a vast covert conspiracy asteroid belt, is given the assignment destabilise already tenuous relations which threatens all humanity. Thursday, June 25, 2020 GULF TIMES 3 PARENTING COMMUNITY Keeping kids happy indoors Faced with two children, a small flat and no garden, Covid-19 meant one couple needed to think creatively, writes Francesca Brown

that we were living in – rather than mourning the bigger loss. From seeing everyday items through new eyes to rearranging furniture, we realised our flat had so much potential that we’d never appreciated before. For Rosa, who was literally climbing the walls and coffee table, we dragged the cushions off the sofa, blankets from drawers and piled them in the middle of the floor so she could face plant on them repeatedly without upsetting the downstairs neighbours. Inspired by fiveminutemum.com, we then invested in bubbles, pipe cleaners and tiny pom-poms that she could sort and play with. We even bought some toddler-friendly crayons at 5am one morning, checking out quickly with PayPal while simultaneously warming up milk and manically trying to keep Rosa occupied. There’s nothing like a pandemic to give you a newfound delight in the breadth of stuff you can buy. Each room, which before felt confining, opened up with possibilities. Rosa was in her element in an empty bath playing with pots, pans and beakers plus a jug of water – while I sat on the bathroom floor catching up on family admin for a full 20 minutes. When I was in the kitchen cooking, REIMAGINATION: Lockdown meant reimagining the home through new eyes. she “helped” by threading dry spaghetti through the holes in a colander. It not only kept her happy, efore any of us had heard it did wonders for her hand-to-eye the phrase “lockdown”, co-ordination. my parenting style was Meanwhile, Betty – inspired by very much of the “Let’s how-to-draw videos by children’s go …” variety. “Let’s go illustrator Rob Biddulph – found B... to the park/cinema/museum/ a new power in creating her own anywhere that will get us out of this bedroom art gallery and started to small flat and make us feel like we’re render friends and family in paper not stifling your childhoods with our form so that she could play with inability to afford a garden.” them – an idea both lovely and As Spain and Italy locked down heartbreaking. A friend lent us their with draconian measures, we could tent, which we popped up in the feel the panic rising: how would my sitting room so Betty and Steven partner, Steven, and I keep seven- could have an indoor sleepover one year-old Betty and 18-month-old Saturday night. Lucky Steven. Rosa occupied with no childcare, no If this all sounds too Waltons to be family or friends, no private outside true then it is. It’s not the full story: space and no throw-money-at-the- Betty also now has an addiction to problem excursions while trying to the computer game Stardew Valley hold down our own jobs? and Rosa’s fifth word is “telly”, The answer unfolded during the which she shouts repeatedly as she first week of lockdown when I told shoves the remote control at our my mum how frustrated Betty was heads. by Hurricane Rosa, the toddler who DIY: One can get inspired by how-to-draw videos by children’s illustrator Rob Biddulph – and find a new power in We’re not nailing this thing by destroys everything in her wake, creating an own bedroom art gallery. a long stretch, as our downstairs shoving small toys in her mouth at neighbours will attest to. But we’ve superfast speed. Mum suggested we soon evolved into an ambitious a luxury department store with a scraps of material for tablecloths. realised that the external draw of empty Betty’s higher bookshelves recreation of Malory Towers-meets- rigged-up LED night light and mood In a world that felt as if it was the organised fun isn’t always the so she could use them to play with Hogwarts, with a dormitory, head music from Classic FM. We then spinning out of control, there was answer; that actually unleashing her Sylvanian Families in peace. teacher’s office, infirmary, canteen moved on to restaurants and bakeries real comfort in having total mastery creativity helped us through a For the uninitiated, these are toy and swimming pool complete with using bits and pieces I bought from of our own tiny domain. tricky and confusing time. Our figures of rabbits, bears and mice tap water. As Betty became ever more every corner of the internet (day or It was then that the lightbulb imagination was fuelled by theirs … who have homes, furniture – whole invested, so did I, and together we night, I was able to check out securely moment struck: if we were going and vice versa. I hope it’s something communities in fact. became increasingly imaginative, using PayPal): so we had cakes made to be locked down, then we needed we remember to take with us into What started as a basic school turning my bedside cabinet into from Blu Tack, sequins for biscuits, to totally rethink the small world the future. – The Guardian 4 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 25, 2020 COMMUNITY COVER STORY A space of their own The goal is to make the flights as accessible and affordable to as many people as possible, one day possibly hosting weddings or corporate retreats, writes Caroline Glenn

CONCEPT: Space Perspective joins the ranks of burgeoning companies working to create an industry that can send paying passengers to the edges of space.

pair of self-described serial entrepreneurs, best-known for flying a KFC chicken sandwich into space and living two years sealed inside That’s really what this is all Aa biosphere, are attempting to start a new human company that instead about: Everybody should be of launching rockets will lift civilian passengers into the sky tethered to a high- able to see the Earth from performance balloon. space. We want them to Space Perspective, introduced during a video news conference last Thursday, really be able to experience aims to carry a capsule of eight passengers at a time, dangling from a 650-foot-tall what talk about, balloon 100,000 feet above Earth. The balloon and capsule will gently ascend for seeing the Earth in space in about two hours at 12mph, floating along that inky blackness of the for another two hours as passengers enjoy refreshments and a view of the Earth cosmos, looking down at the below, and then descend back down at 12mph and splash down in either the Gulf curvature of the Earth of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. The company will base its operations ‘ at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch and — Jane Poynter, Co-founder Landing Facility on Merritt Island and launch from there. It also will potentially Space Perspective launch from Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville. Manufacturing facilities may ’ later be based in Florida. Thursday, June 25, 2020 GULF TIMES 5 COVER STORY COMMUNITY

The goal is to make the flights as accessible and affordable to as many people as possible, one day possibly hosting weddings or corporate retreats. Co- founders Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum, who are married, said they anticipate prices to be around $125,000 for a single ticket. “That’s really what this is all about: Everybody should be able to see the Earth from space,” Poynter said. “We want them to really be able to experience what astronauts talk about, seeing the Earth in space in that inky blackness of the cosmos, looking down at the curvature of the Earth.” But passenger flights are still at least a year away. Hoping to perform its first test flight in early 2021, Space Perspective joins the ranks of burgeoning companies working to create an industry that can send paying passengers to the edges of space, generally thought to begin about 50 miles off Earth’s surface. Space Perspective’s balloon will reach about 20 miles. SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin have been among the most high-profile companies to set their sights on flying regular people to VANTAGE POINT: Renderings of the , to be named Spaceship Neptune, depict a large capsule with a circle of seats facing out to a row of windows. space. Poynter and Taber have successfully developed and test- integrated into the design. access to test facilities, technical technical adviser. a spacesuit life-support system driven other balloon crafts, at It will also have room to support during launches and Poynter and MacCallum plan to funded by a $1.4 million grant another company they founded in fly research payloads and weather data to plot the balloon’s be on one of the first test rides. The from Nasa in 2010 as part of the 2012 called . experiments that Poynter said ascent and splashdown. The self-taught researchers over the Commercial Crew Program that That endeavour drew a lot of will study climate change, the balloon vehicle will be regulated as years have cultivated a somewhat at the time was trying to foster publicity when it hoisted Google atmosphere and the origins of life a spacecraft by the FAA. eccentric reputation in the space public-private partnerships executive Alan Eustace for the in the universe. Base Ventures CEO Kirby Harris, fandom. to develop new technologies. highest-altitude free-fall jump The company has signed a Space Perspective’s lead investor, One of their most successful Neither of Nasa’s commercial crew and when it flew a KFC chicken Space Act Agreement with the will serve as a board member for the undertakings was at Paragon Space partners, Boeing nor SpaceX, has sandwich into the sky. National Aeronautics and Space new company, and Nasa Development Corp., a company used the spacesuit system, however, Since Poynter and MacCallum Administration, which will provide Jeff Hoffman will serve as senior they founded in 1993 that designed Nasa said. left World View, the company has At Paragon, they later started focused on flying payloads instead pursuing another objective, to of people. Co-founders Jane Poynter and Taber MacCallum’s become the first humans to fly past “The balloon technology and Mars, but without funding from putting people into space via a celebrity originates from the two years and 20 minutes Congress or a suitable spacecraft, balloon has been done before so it’s they eventually abandoned the clearly a proven technology. What they spent living inside Biosphere II, a steel and glass, plan. has not been done, which I think is terrarium-like research facility that sprawled three But Poynter and MacCallum’s the challenge that they’re hoping to celebrity originates from the two address, is the ability to do so at a acres of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona years and 20 minutes they spent sufficiently affordable and reliable living inside Biosphere II, a steel and regular enough cadence,” said and glass, terrarium-like research Dale Ketcham, vice president of facility that sprawled three acres of government and external relations the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. for Space Florida, the aerospace Part of a crew of eight men and economic development agency of women, Poynter and MacCallum Florida. studied the survivability of the Passengers will need very little space colony simulation, farming training before taking a ride with crops and raising animals, to Space Perspective, MacCallum evaluate if one day humans could said. During the flight, the interior live in similar self-sustained of the capsule will be pressurised colonies on other planets. and temperature and humidity The experiment, hoped to will be controlled. Onboard there be a blueprint for colonising will be a pilot, paired with another Mars and predicted by physicist down on Earth who can also control Carl Hodges to potentially be the craft. “the most significant scientific A new balloon, which will be project of all time,” was widely filled with hydrogen as helium considered a failure, marred by has become more scarce, will be the crew’s inability to create used for each flight and materials a liveable environment that from it upcycled. The capsule will prompted intervention from be able to be reused on multiple those on the outside running the missions. experiment. Renderings of the spacecraft, But Poynter said it served as the to be named Spaceship Neptune, beginning for her and her husband’s depict a large capsule with a circle journey to send people into space. of seats facing out to a row of “We’ve been working on this windows. Poynter and MacCallum concept for a long time,” Poynter said a bar, bathroom and an said. “It goes all the way back to our unobstructed windowed dome days at Biosphere II.” —The Orlando at the top of the capsule will be Sentinel (Orlando, Florida)/TNS 6 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 25, 2020 COMMUNITY GARDENING How to grow trees in a small garden Think you don’t have the space for a tree in Vegetables that keep on willing to overlook this one flaw, giving, year after year they are easily started off by burying your garden? The simple solution is to use pots a few tubers (found in most seed I’ll have for a while before I can catalogues) in any spare plot right sow batch after batch of the annual now. They are unfussy about soil crops, like lettuce, carrots and or sunlight levels and as you will mind the root restriction and beans, but there is one group that inevitably accidentally leave one the faster rate of drying out that can be planted now that will give or two tubers in the ground come inevitably happens in containers. greater harvests for just a fraction harvest time, a single planting will The ability of small trees in pots of the work. Weirdly, they also tend give you years of harvests. to be sited up against the walls to be more expensive and harder to For fans of kale, there is a virtually of houses without affecting track down in the shops: a pretty identical crop that could give you foundations means these exotic sweet deal when it comes to the for all intents and purposes the trees can benefit from the warm effort/reward ratio, really. exact same harvest for half the microclimate the brickwork creates These are the perennial crops, work. This is perennial kale: a as it absorbs heat in the day to then like artichokes, asparagus and even naturally occurring mutation which emit it overnight. rhubarb, that from a single planting is incapable of flowering, so just Likewise yuzu, the Japanese can produce continual harvests carries on producing loads of lush citrus hybrid. In my experience for decades at a time. They leaves without ever producing seed it is at least as hardy as an olive won’t require the annual ritual of and then dying like the regular form. and adds scented flowers and digging, sowing and transplanting It is even allegedly more tolerant of wonderfully fragrant fruit to each spring, not to mention the the dreaded cabbage white butterfly, the evergreen offer. Plants are drudgery of digging them up and whose caterpillars are the scourge thorny, but being large and few in composting each autumn. If you of brassica growers everywhere. number, I find the spikes easy to haven’t already dedicated a corner As they don’t form seed, you will prune off. Additionally, get a tall of your patch to these horticultural need to buy a few small plants, but enough pot and any thorns that do superstars, now is a perfect time to it’s easy to make loads more from remain will be out of harm’s way. get planting. If you have, here are cuttings. My mate Paul has had a This highlights another benefit of three less well-known, but equally clump for three years, giving him growing trees in pots, you get up to tasty, perennial crops. year-round harvests. 1m of added height (depending on As root crops go, unquestionably Lastly, I implore you to try lovage. the depth of your pot), which can the easiest of all to grow in the UK The young stems and leaves of this be a good way to cheat the look of a is the Jerusalem artichoke. Their perennial relative of celery make more established plant for the same deliciously smoky-sweet, potato- an excellent substitute for its more outlay and time. like tubers were once common in common cousin, despite being If you want something equally Britain, but sadly have dwindled infinitely easier to grow. I can barely unusual, but far more hardy, I’d in popularity in recent years. even get celery to germinate well, let give some of the dwarf eucalyptus They contain a gel-like complex alone get a decent crop! Just as well a go. E kybeanensis is much slower carbohydrate called inulin, which lovage has a richer, more rounded growing than its cousins, creating gives them a wonderfully smooth flavour and is a super vigorous an airy canopy of scented leaves texture and delicate sweetness. grower on perennial plants. OK, on trees just 5m tall. They are fully This same compound is also a older stems will be tough and hardy and take pruning back well. prebiotic, helping boost levels of fibrous, but constant harvesting But with the root restriction of the friendly gut bacteria – but is also from spring onwards will ensure a pot helping curtail its growth, you responsible for their common steady supply of the tender young probably won’t have to. Another moniker, “fartichokes”. If you are stems. smaller gum tree worth growing is E gregsoniana. It isn’t quite as hardy as E kybeanensis, so you’ll need a sheltered garden, but if you have such a spot it more than makes up OBITUARY for the gamble with its wonderful peeling, grey and white bark and L Pushpavathiamma, 87, fluffy white flowers. wife of late Damodaran Pillai, If bright colours are more your retired Indian Army Officer, thing, you can’t get better than passed away in Kerala, Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’, India yesterday. Cremation IN THE POT: The most commonly suggested candidate for pot treatment is which is clothed all summer in rich, will be held on the house an olive – and with good reason. They are evergreen, have character from a burgundy, heart-shaped foliage premises, Ravi Vilasom young age. with bare branches accented with house, Eraviperoor, Thiruvalla, hot pink flowers in the spring. As Kerala, India, at 11:30am There is a simple solution to all of if that’s not enough, the whole tree today. A former teacher at By James Wong these common problems: grow a bursts into red and bronze in the Kerala Hindu Mission UP small tree in a pot. This is often autumn. It’s a good choice for spots School, Vallamkulam India, overlooked so, in an effort to change even when shaded by walls and tall Pushpavathiamma is survived s we head towards that, here’s a round up of the best buildings. Finally, if your garden is by son D Ravi Kumar, a senior midwinter all seems species for pot culture, which will more exposed to the sun, the silk tree sports journalist working in quiet in the garden, but work well in even the tiniest of city Albizia julibrissin, with its feathery, Qatar, and daughter Sreelatha now is the perfect time gardens. fern-like foliage and pom poms of Suresh, teacher at St John’s for the most exciting The most commonly suggested bright pink, scented flowers is a real High School, Eraviperoor Aof horticultural new beginnings: candidate for this treatment is an showstopper, forming a flat-topped, India, along with daughter-in- planting a tree. Worry you don’t olive – and with good reason. They African acacia-like canopy even from law, Jaya Ravi Kumar (Qatar have the space? Gardening on are evergreen, have character from a tiny size. Both these trees are fully Petroleum) and son-in-law concrete? Concerned about a young age and, hailing from the hardy and should grow little more Suresh, entrepreneur. the foundations of your house? often thin soils of the Med, don’t than 5m in a pot. – The Guardian Thursday, June 25, 2020 GULF TIMES 7 FASHION COMMUNITY Why 1997 has taken over fashion

Thanks to a sudden spike in late ’90s popular culture, the decade’s best looks have become the focus of a new nostalgia, writes Lauren Cochrane

Nostalgia makes sense for now, of course – in times of crisis, familiarity brings comfort to fashion, adding reassurance when getting dressed, and providing something certain and established when almost nothing else is. With anxiety levels so high, wearing nailed-on modern classics such as slipdresses and bucket hats alleviates the stress of trying to fit into a trend or wear the right thing. Perhaps these pieces are like a good spag bol – the sartorial equivalent of comfort eating. Zeroing in on one year feels like a new spin on nostalgia. The year 1997 works because it is long enough ago to have a “Remember when?” feel, but modern enough to avoid retro tweeness. If the early seasons of Friends – those before Rachel got the Rachel and Phoebe wore lots of denim – feel dated, we recognise the cast in 1997’s season four, the one where Ross doesn’t marry Emily. Princess Diana died in 1997 and has become a style icon for Gen Z. Gianni Versace died, too, and still influences the style of young women such as Kylie Jenner, who was, yes, born in 1997. Films from the year feel as if they could influence your wardrobe rather than your costume-party look. The outfits worn by Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino in Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion would be snapped up on Depop. Boogie Nights nailed the whole ’90s-does-the-’70s thing, and DENIM: Kerry Washington wearing high rise jeans in 1997-set Little Fires Everywhere. feels quite Celine SS20. And Bridget Fonda’s surfer combo of top and denim cut-offs in Jackie Brown is iewers of Netflix’s 1997, that year’s style seems to be the aim of my social-distancing- hit series, The Last everywhere. Sure, it’s got nothing while-sunbathing-in-the-park Dance, will at first be on the historically seismic years of look this summer. dumbstruck by the way 1929, 1966, 1968, 1989 or 2008, but Catwalk fashion was big in 1997, Michael Jordan passes it’s the under-the-radar reference but it was also a year when today’s Vto himself to dunk a basketball, for your style this summer. It’s in major players began to move into Dennis Rodman’s party boy your denim wishlist: maybe like position. Tom Ford was in his pomp reputation and the length of Scottie me, you’ve been distracted from the at Gucci, all oiled-up bodies and Pippen’s legs, which seem to stretch storylines of 1997-set Little Fires G-branded g-strings. Kate Moss 3D style into living rooms. By Everywhere by Kerry Washington’s walked on water wearing bumsters episode 10, though, the overriding high rise jeans, or are studying the for Alexander McQueen. Marc Jacobs takeaway is late-’90s style: with wide and mid-blue classics worn in – only four years away from dismissal the unstoppable force of an MJ 1997 by Joey from Friends or Jerry at Perry Ellis for a grunge collection attack, it moves from your laptop Seinfeld. Almost non-fashion at the – was appointed creative director screen to your wardrobe. time, they are now a centrepiece at Louis Vuitton. Victoria Adams Not only are there Jordan’s very of normcore style. Bucket hats – started to date David Beckham, and Balençiaga boxy suits and Rodman’s as sported by Rodman in leopard to dress a little differently to her endlessly changing DayGlo hair print, as well as the likes of Liam fellow Spice Girls. Acne Studios was and penchant for nail varnish Gallagher and Tyra Banks – are a founded in Stockholm. and leopard print that could be 2020 staple, with searches up 51% With 90s style now everywhere mined by musicians ranging from in the past month on eBay. Then from high street brands to Billie Eilish and Cardi B to A$AP there are slipdresses – worn by Instagram accounts, a focus on Rocky, but also the normcore style Cameron Diaz and Katie Holmes 1997 feels both gloriously niche of coach Phil Jackson. Footage of in 1997, and hailed as the answer and a bit of a hack – a Kondo-ing of Jordan in a très approprié beret on to comfort and style in lockdown the broader retro references, if you a 1997 trip to Paris has sorry slam- 2020. Reruns of Buffy theVampire will. It’s finite: a bite-sized nugget dunked the hat back on the radar SPARKLING: Lisa Kudrow, left, and Mira Sorvino in 1997’s Romy & Michele’s Slayer – a series that began in, you of comfort, where an endless of street style. General basketball High School Reunion.. guessed it, 1997 – are now on All4, refreshed feed of retro cool can be style is also becoming popular, for fresh, sofa-based inspiration. exhausting. It’s manageable. And, with searches in May for Jordan 1s shirts, according to search platform principally during the 1997-98 Willow’s slipdress and jumper is a right now, manageable feels good. up by 23% and 12% for basketball Lyst. The Last Dance takes place NBA season, and once you notice combo to consider. – The Guardian 8 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 25, 2020 COMMUNITY BODY & MIND Optimism, friendship and tidy socks – the secret to living to 100 Marta Zaraska’s book debunks some of the myths of longevity and suggests how to really live a long life – from avoiding loneliness to eating with others

REDUCING TOXINS OF LONELINESS: A happy social life will not only make you feel more optimistic, but will reduce the toxins generated by loneliness. Having a large network of friends could cut premature death by 45%.

about extreme experiments with these were lies,” writes Zaraska. long-lived people, Zaraska says that By Claire Armitstead mice and monkeys, and scary Calment only picked up smoking “how long we live is only 20-25% biological phenomena such as for two years, well after her 110th heritable”. A gerontologist who knew zombie cells (AKA senescent cells, birthday. Zaraska warns of falling for Calment and researched her case hen her daughter the bloated, not-quite dead matter longevity yarns, many of which turn argued that her love of interviews, was born, Marta that accumulates as we age, belching out to be the product of fantasy. and even her fibs (she admitted to Zaraska was out toxins and turning other Having witnessed the decline of telling journalists anything they determined that cells into zombies). Her research various elderly relatives, I tell her I wanted to hear), might have been nothing but the expanded beyond the scientific, am pretty sure I don’t want to live key. “She was strong, rebellious, Wbest would do. “Goji berries, chia taking in a Portuguese longevity to 100. But she tells me Calment’s curious about the world and fiercely seeds, kale: I was going crazy bootcamp, a Polish hugging salon importance isn’t simply her age, independent.” Crucially, she was an scouring the shops for the healthiest and a flower-pressing session for but the fact that she was in good optimist. food,” she says. “All these things that Japanese octogenarians before health until weeks before her death: So, what are your chances if I thought would make sure she lived circling back to France, home to the “Studies show that the longer you you are none of those things? It is to be 100.” And then it occurred to world’s oldest certified centenarian. live, the higher the likelihood of hardly news that unhappy people her that how we live our lives might By the time Jeanne Calment died, staying in close to perfect shape and generally don’t live as long as happy be more important than the latest in a nursing home in Arles, on 4 dying while gardening or roller- ones. Zaraska contends, though, miracle food or exercise gadget. August 1997, aged 122 years and 164 blading across the globe.” While the that one of the most damaging Being a science journalist with a days, she had become a poster girl average person will spend almost forms of unhappiness is loneliness. training in law, however, she wanted for longevity (although quite how 18% of their lives struggling with Thankfully – for those of us still in a proof. long she lived has been disputed by disease, for a supercentenarian that state of semi-lockdown – this is not She began looking through some). She claimed to have known proportion falls to 5%. the same as being socially isolated. POSTER GIRL FOR LONGEVITY: hundreds of academic papers and Van Gogh and regaled journalists Although public records show While lockdown was in place in Jeanne Calment in 1995, aged 119. interviewing scores of researchers with tales of her smoking. “But that Calment came from a line of the village where Zaraska lives in Thursday, June 25, 2020 GULF TIMES 9 BODY & MIND COMMUNITY Optimism, friendship and tidy socks – the secret to living to 100

northern France, the health workers are harder to shift than others. “If were cheered every night. “You you were to pick one personality trait couldn’t see people, but you could to work on in order to increase your hear them; you knew you were doing chances, go for conscientiousness,” something together.” Loneliness she says. As traits go, it is relatively is different: “You can have plenty easy to change. “Keep your office of people around you and still feel neat, organise your sock drawer, set lonely.” your clothes out the night before.” It all goes back to our hunter- As someone who has always been gatherer past and the different a bit of a slouch in the sock drawer strategies needed to protect department, I find this alarming. ourselves. The feeling of loneliness How does extreme tidiness square signalled the sort of isolation with the idea of a harmonious family that put early humans in danger life – or of becoming a centenarian? of animal attack. In the absence Conscientious people are more of passing lions, it now generates likely to do things that are good for a constant, low-burning stress. them. “We invest so much money This could lead to chronic in expensive clinical trials that inflammation, which is associated promise extravagant therapies to with everything from cancer and reverse ageing,” she writes. “But rheumatoid arthritis to diabetes and maybe we should just do things that Alzheimer’s. are already known to work, such as Calment may have been an volunteering, making friends and outlier, but Zaraska believes that learning optimism. If we invest France has a message to share. “The more in being kind, mindful and average French person lives over conscientious, we are more likely to four years longer than the average improve the conditions in which we American – but don’t assume it’s all all live.” to do with the Mediterranean diet,” she writes. “The French do obsess Five easy steps to prolong your about their eating – just about a life: very different aspect of it.” More Offer to mow your neighbour’s than two-thirds of French people lawn in their 30s and 40s eat dinner Helping other people boosts your with their family, compared with sense of wellbeing, and by extension 24% of Americans. “Maybe,” she your health, but it is most effective says, “the life-prolonging aspect if it is local and involves direct of the Mediterranean diet is not the personal contact. If you can combine amount of vegetables and olive oil it it with a bit of exercise, bingo. contains, but the way these foods are eaten: together with others.” SELF DISCIPLINE: Practise self-discipline in whatever way suits you, whether yoga, meditation or mindfulness. Don’t obsess about organic The statistics Zaraska has food and supplements unearthed to support her thesis It is healthier to make time for are startling. Sticking to the says Zaraska, citing surveys from years by 2%. But even if you are very do have.” Cheeringly, personality a cup of coffee with your partner Mediterranean diet – rich in fruit the US, Japan, Sweden and the introverted, there are things you can traits are not set in stone. They are a than to spend hours sourcing and and vegetables; olive oil in place of Netherlands. One Dutch study do to improve your prospects. Such compound of faults and behaviours concocting a perfect meal. Plus, butter – may reduce your chance claimed that each extra person in as? “Don’t worry about your lack of that add up over time, and can be according to some studies, the of premature death by 21%. Having a network of regular interactions a wide friendship group. Take good tackled through therapy, meditation “obesity paradox” means that a large network of friends, though, lowered the risk of dying within five care of the few close friends you and self-discipline – although some people with a BMI of between 30 and will cut it by 45%. Having a happy 35 have a better chance of surviving marriage will pretty much halve it. a range of common diseases than Put them all together, she says, those who are thinner. and you may even arrive at “the Roseto effect”. In the early 60s, the Work on your friendships inhabitants of Roseto, Pennsylvania, A happy social life will not only were found to have very low rates make you feel more optimistic, but of heart disease, for all that they will reduce the toxins generated by smoked, drank and loved sausages loneliness. If it has to be via social cooked in lard (being overweight media for the time being, so be it, is not, statistically, a hindrance to but beware of “phubbing” your living into old age, provided that nearest and dearest – snubbing your BMI does not stray into serious them in favour of all those phone obesity). friends will make them feel lonely The phenomenon was ascribed and stressed. to the extreme sociability of a community of Italian immigrants Attend to your ikigai who had forgotten all about the In Japan, which has one of the Mediterranean diet, but not about best longevity records, older people the lifestyle that went with it. Were keep themselves busy either with they to abandon their neighbourly work or with organised hobbies, in habits, a local doctor warned, their the interest of maintaining their health would deteriorate. And so ikigai – their purpose in life. it came to pass. By the end of the 70s, Zaraska writes, Rosetans had Tidy that sock drawer succumbed to the American dream Practise self-discipline in of bigger, more remote houses, whatever way suits you, whether reached by car rather than on foot yoga, meditation or mindfulness. It – and had a mortality rate similar to will help you to be your best self and other places in the US. may even lead to you living until you t is on the subject of personality are 100 – provided you don’t get too that the book is most surprising. stressed about it. Extroverts tend to outlive introverts, CUTTING CHANCE OF PREMATURE DEATH: A Mediterranean diet can cut your chance of premature death by 21%. – The Guardian 10 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 25, 2020 COMMUNITY INFOGRAPHIC Thursday, June 25, 2020 GULF TIMES 11 LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE COMMUNITY Managing pulse pressure can prevent dementia

n a promising find to prevent fruitful progress could be made by pathogenesis of dementia”. dementia, scientists now addressing factors that compromise For the past two decades, a report that reducing elevated the blood brain barrier,” explained primary focus of drug development pulse pressure in blood can study co-author Mark Carnegie for Alzheimer’s disease, the most herald new therapeutic target of The Brain Protection Company prevalent form of dementia, Ifor preventing or slowing cognitive based in Australia. has been to target the molecule impairment. Connecting a large and rapidly amyloid-beta. Pulse pressure is the difference growing body of evidence, the However, despite billions between systolic and diastolic blood researchers elucidate how elevated of dollars spent on R&D, that pressure and commonly increases pulse pressure may cause dementia approach has yet to be successful. with age due to the stiffening of by disturbing the blood brain The researchers suggest that arteries and blood vessels. The barrier. targeting amyloid-beta alone to normal range of pulse pressure is Elevated pulse pressure in treat dementia may be an uphill between 40 and 60mm Hg. blood travelling to the brain can battle since concurrent elevated In a paper published in the cause inflammation, oxidative pulse pressure will continue to journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, stress, mechanical stress, cellular activate secretion of various researchers have outlined a pulse- dysfunction, and cell death in the inflammatory and oxidative pressure-induced pathway of blood brain barrier that leads to molecules and amyloid-beta from cognitive decline that sheds light brain damage. the blood brain barrier into brain on why previous treatments for There is significant evidence tissue. dementia may have failed. supporting that disruption of the Stem and progenitor cell can impact the health of stem in dementia, reducing elevated “Over the last couple years, blood brain barrier is a key driver of therapies have gained significant and progenitor cells, said the pulse pressure could prove to be a sea change in dementia and cognitive decline and dementia. attention as potential strategies to researchers. synergistic with other therapeutic Alzheimer’s disease research has Professor David Celermajer of repair blood brain barrier damage “The combination therapy has approaches such as anti-amyloid- occurred. Focus has shifted from The Brain Protection Company said and treat dementia, but chronic been paramount in the treatment beta drugs or stem cell therapy,” solely targeting amyloid-beta in that “this is an important paradigm inflammatory and oxidative stress of other challenging diseases, suggested Dr Rachel Levin, lead the brain to the opinion that more shift in our understanding of the due to elevated pulse pressure in particular cancer. Therefore, author of the paper. — IANS

Aries Taurus Gemini March 21 — April 19 April 20 — May 20 May 21 — June 20

You shouldn’t try to fight the feelings that run through you today. Your dreams could be vivid, pleasant, and full of information to help Today you will have all the energy you need to deal with long-term Don’t even try to rationalise them. These feelings are probably you make a decision. New and exciting contacts could come into family problems. Indeed, you’ll probably clash with some of your related to emotions dating back to your childhood. You shouldn’t your life today, Taurus, possibly proving helpful in showing you ways relatives. But this situation won’t cause any serious issues, and you’ll avoid or analyse them. There will be a lot of turmoil welling up inside to increase your income. New careers, sidelines, and investments deal with these circumstances like a pro. You have the ability to get you, Aries. You should try to find some peace and quiet with special appear promising and worthy of consideration. Make the most of out of any delicate situation you find yourself in today. someone. whatever comes your way. It could make a difference. Cancer Leo Virgo June 21 — July 22 July 23 — August 22 August 23 — September 22

You enjoy caring for others and you intervene regularly in their We all have to make compromises in order to live in contemporary Important enterprises centring on your home could take up a lot of lives to guide them. Ironically, today you’re the one who needs society. You may have strong beliefs, but it’s difficult to combine your your energy over the next few days, Virgo. Many people might come advice. You’ll probably need to get away from it all in order to get a ideals and a social life. Today you may wonder if you’re prepared to and go from your life. Perhaps you’re moving to a nicer place, or clear view of your own life, Cancer. You could even decide to make be edged out of society and fight for your convictions. Shouldn’t you maybe transacting a lot of business in your home. Whatever it is, it’s the necessary arrangements for a trip abroad at some point in the try to find a compromise between life and your ideals? likely to produce the results you’re hoping for. Work hard and make future. the most of it. Libra Scorpio Sagittarius September 23 — October 22 October 23 — November 21 November 22 — December 21

You may feel annoyed about the attitude of some of your group of You should feel especially warm and loving today toward just about You really know how to seduce, Sagittarius. There is a spark inside friends. Unlike these people, you’re very open-minded and you can anyone you meet, Scorpio. Good news about money may have of you that spreads naturally to those around you. You have a big deal with situations as they arise. Indeed, you have a natural ability caused you to feel especially positive. This could attract new people reservoir of sensitivity and emotion that could grow today. You to adapt to every situation. Libra, today you’ll probably have to to you and bring closer those already in your life. If you’ve been might charm new people. Don’t forget to recharge your batteries in arbitrate between two people with widely differing opinions. thinking about starting an artistic project, this is the day to do it. order to keep your feelings intact in the days to come. Creative ideas should flow freely. Have fun. Capricorn Aquarius Pisces December 22 — January 19 January 20 — February 18 February 19 — March 20

You’re a very active person, Capricorn, but today you’ll probably Nothing much is happening today, yet you seem worried and tense. You often need to thrive on personal emotions. Today will be no be disappointed. If you ask those around you to help with your You’ll have to use this day to your advantage. Think about your exception to the rule. For instance, you could try to captivate the activities, they most likely won’t understand your needs. They’ll life. You’ll also think about the needs of your relatives in the years attention of people you admire. The only problem is that they might wonder why you need to move constantly and why you need to to come and how to attain those goals. You’ll also be in the best not be receptive at first. Try to take your time. You will have other create. The day may seem exhausting and complicated to you. disposition to think about your own family life. opportunities in the near future. 12 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 25, 2020 COMMUNITY CARTOONS/PUZZLES

Wordsearch Adam

Pooch Cafe

UPBEAT UPLIFT UPWIND UPHOLD UPTOWN UPHEAVAL UPSET UPFRONT UPROAR UPDATE UPPER UPHILL UPKEEP UPTURN UPROOT UPSTART UPGRADE UPEND UPRIGHT

Codeword Every letter of the alphabet is used at least once. Squares with the same number in have the same letter in. Work out which number represents which letter.

Garfield Puzzles courtesy: Puzzlechoice.com courtesy: Puzzles

Sudoku

Bound And Gagged

Sudoku is a puzzle based on a 9x9 grid. The grid is also divided into nine (3x3) boxes. You are given a selection of values and to complete the puzzle, you must fill the grid so that every column, every anone is repeated. Thursday, June 25, 2020 GULF TIMES 13 PUZZLES COMMUNITY

Super Cryptic Clues Colouring

Across Down 1 Flawed, being tense (9) 2 Stonework showing Madonna 8 Making a stew may be a holding child (7) profitless activity (5) 3 Sir Anthony’s garden (4) 9 One true turning on the way 4 Cook fish within, without (2,5) compulsion (6) 10 Yearn for quite a while? (4) 5 Girl getting employment in 11 Struggle awkwardly with fish musical (8) (8) 6 Regretted sounding coarse (4) 13 A city in Ohio, content from 7 Don’t forget imaginary teddy midday to nightfall (6) (4,2,4) 14 Mandela’s naval hero (6) 8 Lady in west resolved to get 17 Society esteems a great film producer (4,6) philosopher (8) 12 Never mind vacuum? (2,6) 19 Social worker one opposed (4) 15 Christmas visitor with iron for 21 Stretchy material that may city in New Mexico (5,2) come from Castile (7) 16 Be a prisoner or a guiding 22 Forked out about a pound for light (6) tartan cloth (5) 18 Some fleecy animals in the 23 Old soldier re-reading novel shade (4) (9) 20 Potato, small and sweet (4) Solution

Answers

Wordsearch Codeword 14 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 25, 2020 COMMUNITY REVIEWS My Spy is formulaic fluff

wasted that inherent quality of By Katie Walsh quiet devastation he carries so well. It adds an undercurrent of tragic poignancy to the lightly he “big man, little kid” entertaining bit of formulaic fluff comedy genre is a time- that is My Spy, which is far more honoured tradition and fascinating than the lame comedy a seemingly required the film privileges. rite of passage for any Bautista plays JJ, a former special Tprofessional wrestler making ops Army Ranger superstar, current their way into more mainstream terrible CIA spook. He’s excellent Hollywood roles. The trend was at shooting and blowing things up, popularised with Hulk Hogan, in terrible at negotiating and reading the likes of Suburban Commando people. After he fumbles a mission, and Mr. Nanny, and almost every his boss (Ken Jeong) demotes him current wrestling-turned-movie to a boring surveillance gig with star these days has done their duty tech-nerd Bobbi (Kristen Schaal, in these kiddie comedies, which are who practically saves the whole an opportunity for easy, size-based movie singlehandedly). They set up laughs and a chance to appeal to in an apartment building, bugging a broader fan base. Dwayne “The the new home of the sister-in- Rock” Johnson had his turn with law Kate (Parisa Fitz-Henley) and Tooth Fairy, John Cena did his niece Sophie (Chloe Coleman) of time in Playing with Fire, and now the big bad guy, who has nuclear Dave Bautista has My Spy, coming weapon plans, or something. to Amazon Prime Video after its It’s quite the tortured setup to theatrical release became one of get brawny tough guy JJ to cross the first cinematic victims of the paths with the precocious Sophie, Covid-19 pandemic. and it’s definitely a bone-chilling Bautista is an interesting actor, dramatization of government far more serious and stoic than overreach in surveilling private the silly Cena or the charismatic citizens. Cute! Johnson. In Guardians of the But the unlikely relationship JJ is seriously lacking in people But anything that touches on help but think the story would have Galaxy Bautista’s stoicism was between JJ and Sophie is where skills. But the two find something the trauma and tragedy they’ve worked so much better as a drama, put to good use as the vengeful the film finds its moments of they need in each other, even experienced is papered over with or some kind of Man on Fire actioner, warrior Drax, and he turned in a resonance, though they are few if it is predicated on the illegal mediocre and well-worn comic bits, with Coleman’s chops and Bautista’s stunning dramatic performance and far between. New kid in surveillance of her family and the like Bautista awkwardly dancing to brooding presence. Hopefully a during a brief appearance in school Sophie has just lost her subsequent blackmail that Sophie Cardi B while on a dinner. Jeong and director can figure out what best to Blade Runner 2049. But his last dad and wants to fit in and make uses to turn JJ into a father figure, Schaal are quite funny in the limited do with him as a leading man, and few films, includingStuber , have some friends, while the gruff or at least a special friend. time they’re given, but one can’t soon. — TNS Jon Stewart’s bad political ‘comedy’

didn’t just make a documentary, rather behind Veep and In the Loop. Perhaps By Katie Walsh than subjecting us to this breathtakingly it requires an outsider’s perspective bad and out-of-touch political humour, to truly see what makes American seemingly written by an artificial politics ridiculous, and Veep managed on Stewart’s new film, intelligence that was fed a steady diet of to pull off that barbed insight because Irresistible, opens with a cable news and “Pod Save America.” no one was safe. In Irresistible (a title sequence knitting together The plot concerns a small town in seemingly chosen only for the fact that sound bites of the 2016 Wisconsin, Deerlaken, where a local “resist” is in the middle of it), Stewart presidential debates and footage farmer, Col. Jack Hastings (Chris errs on the side of safe, especially with Jof a strongman taking a cannonball Cooper), goes viral after a video of his the denizens of Deerlaken. He ends up to the gut, before Bob Seger’s Still the stirring speech in defence of immigrants neutering the whole endeavour, leaving Same plays over photos of small-town rights at a city council meeting is posted Gary out to dry, but not before we are campaign stops. A title card reading to the web. Soon, the establishment forced to spend the duration of the film Rural America, Heartland, U.S.A. tells vultures swoop in to take advantage with this unlikable, unrepentant jerk. Is us where this tale takes place, so, as of this unicorn: an older white male the film condescending, or is Gary? It’s you can see, this political “comedy” military vet with seemingly progressive hard to tell when he’s the protagonist about (checks notes) campaign finance values. With hopes of activating rural whose perspective we share, down to reform is extremely subtle and not voters to vote blue, in jets Dem strategist the gooey slow-mo glances with which condescending in any way. That’s Gary Zimmer (Steve Carell), a right- he appraises Jack’s daughter, Diana sarcasm. It’s extremely condescending wing radio host’s dream of the “liberal (Mackenzie Davis). and unrelentingly cynical, before it rips elite,” with his penchant for electric cars, With Irresistible, Stewart wants to the rug out from under the audience at NPR and “haricot verts.” Gary wants have his blueberry streusel and eat it too, the 11th hour, requiring a documentary- Jack to run for mayor and offers to run attempting to craft “biting” commentary style explainer during the credits to clear his campaign. When the Republicans with no teeth, that patronises but refuses up what the heck just happened. get wind of it, they send in their Barbie to offend, and stumbles over itself trying It’s ironic that the only crumb of bot Faith (Rose Byrne), who honestly to be both snarky and sincere, a mode anything worthwhile in Irresistible is behaves like an alien pretending to that Stewart easily toggled between this 30 seconds of documentary footage, be a Fox News anchor. Gary and Faith on The Daily Show. But you just can’t where we can hear Stewart’s voice turn Deerlaken into the arena for their do both at the same time, as he tries to from behind the camera, questioning a political bloodsport. here. He bogs down his talented cast former chairman of the Federal Election It seems Stewart has set his sights on with a bewildering plot, tired tropes and Commission on the plausibility of his being the American Armando Iannucci, embarrassing dialogue. This one, well, script. It makes you wonder why Stewart the brilliant British political satirist it’s simply resistible. — TNS Thursday, June 25, 2020 GULF TIMES 15 SHOWBIZ COMMUNITY

Adnan Sami: Important countless examples of outsiders ‘Privilege’ (for which they’re being to acknowledge and insiders in the past competing paid!!) to ridicule, humiliate and incredible talent for positions and roles that were new talent, which by and large eventually rewarded on merit, is usually far more talented than After Sonu Nigam, singer whom today you look at as ‘stars’ them but, they use such tactics Adnan Sami has opened up were once banked upon by similar inorder to keep themselves on the issues plaguing India’s individuals who were willing to be ‘insecurely- Secure’ only because entertainment industry. fair and take that small risk for the they are so called outsiders.” Taking to Twitter, Adnan shared bigger picture,” he wrote. Adnan emphasised on a lengthy note, throwing light on Adnan added: “We have all acknowledging talented people the discrimination that outsiders been privy to how in recent times irrespective of whether he/she is face. roles and positions have been an outsider or not. “Today, after immense rewarded and the truth is, we “Does this happen in the Oscars retrospection and self reflection, I have turned a blind eye towards or Baftas?? NO! This is Bollywood have decided to voice my thoughts what impact that may be having damn it! We have the biggest pool on some matters plaguing our on the overall culture of how our of people consisting of 1.3 billion industry. I see around me, names industry is looked at and most people. of industry leaders, veterans who importantly how unwelcoming it “What is most important is FRIENDS: Sonu Nigam, left, and Adnan Sami. through their talent and hard work makes someone who may not have to acknowledge the incredible have made a timeless place for a lineage feel. children who are truly gifted with against anyone who deserves our respective industries to bind themselves in this industry, used “To be fair, it is only natural for talent regardless of their pedigree to be in a position as long as it a new, empathetic, open minded as mascots to prove the industry’s the audiences to show an interest that nobody and absolutely wasn’t snatched away from a and welcoming culture. acceptance of outsiders. and love for children of artists nobody is entitled to anything. more deserving hand based off of “A culture that allows a child “Such people, including myself whom they adore, however to “It is the audience who chooses privilege.” who may not have any resources to came at a time when the seniors in interpret that as a justified place who they want to see and it should Adnan hopes to see industry believe that if he or she is honest, Bollywood were seasoned, secure and a right to feel entitled and be the industry’s duty to give welcoming talented people with works hard and is talented, can within and they respected talent crack distasteful ‘inside’ jokes in the audience a chance to explore open arms. stand shoulder to shoulder with and saw the value in developing award functions with incredible artists from all walks of life and “I hope and pray that whilst the the greatest stars this country has and nurturing new talent for the new artists, as if they are giving then they decide who they wish world is transitioning and evolving produced,” Adnan concluded. growth of the industry. There are YOU (the audience) the so called to watch or hear. I have nothing in these times, we return back to — IANS Took us a while to realise Hamilton won’t play for long

BY SUGANDHA RAWAL

in-Manuel Miranda recognises the deep impact of his ethnically diverse Broadway hit Hamilton when he sees Lpeople using quotes from the play while protesting with the calls for change. The Emmy and Grammy winning artiste says he is proud that the language of the show connects with people on a large scale. Now, with the coronavirus pandemic bringing the whole entertainment industry to a standstill, it took Miranda a while to realise that his show will not be played live in the theatres for long, and that’s when he decided to make theatre accessible to all THE STORY: Inspired by the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, Hamilton uses the life story of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton to with OTT premiere of filmed explore the history of the US, while navigating several issues which resonate even today version of Hamilton. “The world turned upside Would you please give it to us?’,” Hamilton uses the life story something’s gonna do (while of the show is connecting in a way down. The world changed and I he added. of American Founding Father working on it)... Six years writing that makes me incredibly proud. I think it took us a while to realise The filmed version was slated Alexander Hamilton to explore the it, gathering this incredible cast, can’t even wrap my mind around Hamilton wasn’t going to be for a theatrical release, but the history of the US, while navigating some of whom were with us just for that. I just can’t,” added the playing in any theatres live for makers opted for a digital route several issues which resonate even the journey to Broadway, some of us 40-year-old. a long time, and that took us a as theatres remain shut due to the today through a story spawned were with us for years. We’ve been Filmed at The Richard Rodgers minute,” Miranda said during pandemic. together with hip-hop, jazz, running for five years and I think Theatre in New York in June a virtual press conference with “We sort of realised that this is an R&B and Broadway. It has had more people will see Hamilton of 2016, the film promises to select media, including IANS, incredible opportunity. We always a profound impact on culture, between July 3-5 than have ever transport its audience into the while talking about the decision to said we wanted to democratise, and politics, and education. seen it before. So I don’t even know world of Broadway at a time when release it on an OTT platform. it just felt like a good opportunity. It Credited as a revolutionary how to wrap my mind or my heart entertainment avenues remain “It took us a minute to adjust happens almost exactly on the five- show, the musical has been around that,” Miranda said. shut due to the virus crisis. to the new timeline of the world. year anniversary that we filmed it, showered with praise and awards. “When I see a sign at a protest The multi-award winning stage And you know, over the course of which is even more extraordinary,” In 2016, it won the Pulitzer Prize out in the street that says, musical featuring the original that happening, we heard people he said. for drama and the Tony Award for ‘History has its eyes on you’ or Broadway cast will release on saying ‘Hey, we hear you have a Inspired by the book Alexander best new musical. the ‘Tomorrow There’ll Be More Disney+ Hotstar Premium on July Hamilton movie. We are all home. Hamilton by Ron Chernow, “You have no idea how of Us’... I know that the language 3. — IANS 16 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 25, 2020 COMMUNITY The Last of Us Part 2 is a horror game and that’s why it hurts Its bloody tragedies have outraged some players but this sequel draws unashamedly on heritage horror films.

retribution through a ruined Seattle By Keith Stuart inhabited by vicious, warring factions. Here already, Naughty Dog is mixing various horror tropes. t’s the sound effects that Ellie begins as the classic vengeful really get to you. The victim, an archetype dragged strangulated gurgle of a from 1970s exploitation flicks slashed throat, the wet such as The Last House on the Left schlump of an axe hitting and I Spit on Your Grave, arming Ia skull, the gloopy splatter of a herself with improvised weapons shotgun blast to the torso. For those and bludgeoning her way through coming to The Last of Us sequel escalating set pieces. expecting a dark, character-led Against her, beyond the obvious drama, these gruesome noises, zombie-like infected, stand two encountered in the first moments of survivor factions, inhabiting combat, are an attention-grabbing different areas of Seattle. reminder that this is first and The Wolves are a militarised foremost a horror series. After all, community, operating out of the original title ended on a horrific a converted football stadium, decision: in the midst of a deadly where soldiers are trained and viral pandemic, troubled father drilled with deadly efficiency. figure Joel could either let a medical This is the dystopian police state team dissect his surrogate daughter of Battle Royale, Soylent Green to discover a cure, or save her life and A Clockwork Orange, as and doom humanity. He chose the dehumanising and desperate as latter, murdering everyone in the the infected monsters themselves. operating theatre in the process. Then there are the Seraphites, This was a bleak, catastrophic a tribe-like religious cult that PURE HORROR: The Last of Us Part 2. conclusion, ripped straight from rejects technology and hides out the zombie films of George Romero. in Seattle’s overgrown parks. The moments, Naughty Dog is creating And while the trailers for The scene where Ellie is stalked by its its own video game variation on a Last of Us Part 2 depicted Ellie at hunters while they whistle to each key convention of horror cinema: a barn dance, it should have been other in the dark, deadly crossbow point-of-view camerawork. In clear this isn’t Life Is Strange. It arrows singing out of nowhere, the slasher movies of the 1980s, was never going to be a hope-filled is a chilling piece of rural horror, directors such as John Carpenter, adventure story. Though there channelling the same primal fears Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper are several romantic relationships as Deliverance, The Hills Have Eyes would regularly shoot stalking at its core, the Last of Us sequel and Southern Comfort. and killing scenes from the POV depicts a pitiless universe where And while there are moments of the killer, thereby dislocating characters are locked into brutal of incredible beauty in the scenes and disorientating the viewer’s cycles of revenge and savagery – a of skyscrapers, strip malls and relationship with the protagonists. fact confirmed in the first hour of convention centres reclaimed by The Last of Us Part 2 is a game play when Joel is beaten to death by nature, there is always something all about POV and control – and Abby, a character we later control. rotten and pungent beneath the horror that arises when these It’s a statement of intent from it all. It’s no coincidence that are challenged or lost. As players Naughty Dog, a signal to the player the game often resembles the we inhabit the body of “enemy” that from now on, anything can early Resident Evil titles in its character Abby, and we take part happen. In his famous essay An environmental design. Long in battles where we’re given no Introduction to the American sections take place in pulverised control over the outcome. The Horror Film, critic Robin Cook subway stations, festering sewers alienation this causes is the video wrote: “Central to the effect and and blood-splattered cellars, game equivalent of Gone Girl’s fascination of horror films is their with players having to slowly masterful mid-point switch, or fulfilment of our nightmare wish pick their way through collapsed suddenly seeing the world through to smash the norms that oppress industrial substrata and eviscerated the eyes of Michael Myers. As Carol us and which our moral condition underground trains. Original Resi Clover points out in her seminal teaches us to revere.” Horror texts designer Shinji Mikami wanted study of gender and horror, Men, ALIENATION: Subverting the player’s POV creates the video game are by their nature, sadistic and his characters to descend from Women and Chainsaws, it’s not equivalent of seeing the world through the eyes of Michael Myers in transgressive. They challenge the civilisation into a sort of living hell, about identifying with the baddie, Halloween. conservative narrative diktat that a ruined netherworld inhabited by it’s about tearing down the whole evil should be punished, monsters monstrous human mutants. This is idea of identification. as the ghostly onry of Japanese has chosen to close the PlayStation destroyed and order restored. where Ellie is headed too. People rarely change in horror folk horror. She is the monster. 4 era with such a colossally And Part 2 is, if anything, more The way the game toys with fiction – they follow instincts and It’s a testament to Naughty Dog’s expensive and tragically beautiful of a pure horror experience than player agency and perspective, enact rituals until they meet their storytelling that she does, despite peon to nihilism, terror and, most the original game, abolishing the the way it gives and takes away doom. Ellie’s inability to divert all the subversive conventions the shockingly of all, forgiveness. It promise of escape and burying control, has proved controversial from her quest for blood gradually game explores, get a redemptive arc ensures that this great console goes the characters in its apocalyptic with some players, especially in the reveals her, not as a victim, but – though it is long and costly and out not on a bang, or a whimper, reality. Joel’s killing start sets Ellie moments where it involves killing as a vengeful demonic entity, as shrewdly ambiguous. but on the sounds of bones and on a destructive, bloody quest for major characters. But in these ceaseless and uncompromising It is kind of incredible that Sony hearts breaking. – The Guardian