Life Style

Amanda Knox has found comfort in “the sisterhood of ill repute”.Speaking at the LA Times Festival of Books at the weekend, Knox was candid about connecting with other women who she says have been publicly vilified.Monica Lewinsky was the first of that group that she met, and she said their relationship has been meaningful. “She showed me that there was a path forward for regaining a sense of authorship over your own life,” Knox said.In 2007, while studying abroad in Italy, Knox was wrongfully convicted of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher, and spent nearly four years in prison before she was eventually exonerated.Amanda Knox escorted by Italian prison police officers after a hearing in 2008. Photo: APKnox described meeting Lewinsky, an activist and former White House intern who had ...

This is the 61st instalment in a series on dementia, including the research into its causes and treatment, advice for carers, and stories of hope.You are never too old to start exercising: science says that even in your mid-sixties – and beyond – exercise will make a big difference to your brain.A study by a team at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, which analysed the exercise habits of almost 90,000 adults with a median age of 63, found that every extra half-hour of exercise over the average weekly 126 minutes was associated with a four per cent reduction in the risk of developing dementia.Amal Wanigatunga, assistant professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and lead author of the study, says the findings show that any amount of moderate to ...

Whenever Disney premieres a new stage musical, we see all over again how much of a draw they can be for families with children.Think of Disney musicals like Frozen and The Lion King, where rapt children in their Elsa dresses or those clutching their stuffed Simbas remain glued to their theatre seats.But from what age are the themes of such musicals really suitable for children, and how can they be best prepared for what they will be seeing on stage?Officially, children aged three and up are allowed to attend a Disney live-action musical. Stephan Jaekel, the director of communications at theatre operator Stage Entertainment in Hamburg, Germany, says that it is extremely rare that children have to be turned away, since parents and legal guardians usually respect the minimum-age rule.“But of ...

Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie, which hit cinemas on April 25, answers a lot of questions about the stoner comedy duo’s career.But it also raises a few big ones along the way, chief among them, given the title: is this truly the final silver-screen session for the pair, now 78 and 86 respectively? And how, after a contentious creative split four decades ago, did they find themselves reunited for, of all things, a documentary?“It’s [actually] the next-to-the-last movie, but that doesn’t sound right,” quips Richard “Cheech” Marin with a slight shrug and a wan chuckle. “You never know.”“God only knows,” Tommy Chong says. “It all depends on the script. Everything depends on the script.”What reunited them on the big screen for the first time since 1984’s The Corsican Brothers?...

When Imada Sake Brewing master brewer Miho Imada presented a sake inspired by local seafood to a sommelier from Hong Kong, she asked for pairing suggestions. The answer was surprising: braised pork trotters.Sake has been enjoying an international boom that is bringing in new fans and food combinations. Even as domestic consumption of Japan’s national drink continues its long decline, the volume exported in 2024 was up 90 per cent over 10 years ago.Aided by the addition of the traditional knowledge and skills used in sake brewing to Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in December, this overseas bonanza is giving a shot in the arm to regional brewers like Imada Shuzo, as the brewery is commonly known.In the quiet port town of Akitsu, facing the Seto Inland Sea, Imada Shuzo produces it...

“Exploitation films”, which rely on copious amounts of soft-core sex, gore and violence to attract an audience, began in the United States in the 1960s with films like Blood Feast. By the 1970s, hundreds were being made.Hong Kong did not really explore the genre until the late 1980s – but once it started, it went for it, no holds barred.We recall three classics of the exploitation genre made in Hong Kong.1. Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991)Prison films were a big part of the exploitation genre, and the gross-out Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky, often regarded as Hong Kong’s most outrageous action movie, takes the idea to the max.There are sadistic wardens, brutal gang bosses, buckets of blood and gore, and plenty of hard-hitting futuristic kung fu courtesy of choreographer Philip Kwok Chun-fu...

When British-born photographer Michael Kenna first visited Japan in 1987, he instantly fell under its spell.“I was blown away by the aesthetics, the spiritual and religious aspects, the curiosity of the people and their friendliness,” says Kenna via video call from the Japanese city of Kyoto.“It was completely exotic, beautiful, strange, mysterious, delightful, engaging.”He explored the length of the country, from Hokkaido in the north to Osaka in the south of Honshu island.That is what I love about analogue photography – I never know what I have until months later when I have made the contact sheetsAlong the way he visited Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, checked into riverside ryokan – traditional Japanese inns – and ate at convenience stores.

In “Hotel Reverie”, an episode from the recent, seventh season of Netflix series Black Mirror, filmmaker Haolu Wang focuses on the hot topic of artificial intelligence (AI).The episode sees AI technology being used to speed up, simplify and, most importantly, reduce the costs of remaking a classic film as something of a money grab.This 78-minute instalment of the science-fiction anthology series dropped just months after Hollywood writers, directors and actors went on strike to protest at the expansion in the use of AI – and the lack of agreements on it – in the entertainment industry.The irony of the timing is not lost on the Chinese-born director, who hopes that “people will realise AI is terrible for creativity”.Haolu Wang on the set of Hotel Reverie, which she says was crafted by hand ...

After three tangles with cancer, Aparna Suri finds joy in simple things – a snail crossing the road, the vibrant colours of a sunset, or the satisfaction of perfecting a new recipe.These small pleasures and the support of her family and friends have become anchors in a life repeatedly upended by cancer, yet defined by resilience.Suri was diagnosed with stage 1 triple negative breast cancer in September 2023, her third bout with the disease since overcoming Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1996 and thyroid cancer in 2015.“You don’t have a choice when you have cancer. Being brave is the only way forward. You push through your fear,” says the 50-year-old Singapore resident, whose first diagnosis came at age 21, just 10 months into her marriage.After her husband noticed a lump on her collarbone, a CAT sc...

The fourth month of the Year of Snake that begins on April 28, 2025 will bring on a lot of digestive issues for many. While work luck will vary for each sign, finances seem likely to remain stable – although some people will have to exercise caution while investing.Read on to see what feng shui master Andrew Kwan has to say about what is in store for your Chinese zodiac.Rat (1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020)This month brings improved career prospects for Rats. They can achieve significant progress by actively showcasing their abilities and working harder.Their financial luck remains stable, but they should avoid speculative ventures and know when to retreat from high-risk situations.Relationship-wise, couples will enjoy stability with potential discussions about long-term com...