Latest news with #McCall
Gulf Insider
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Gulf Insider
Cat Lady Wants To Ban The Blue Angels
The Blue Angels, America's elite military aviation stunt team now in its 79th year, may have met its match; a Seattle cat lady who says in a new lawsuit the military jets traumatized her ailing cat to not just the cat lady either, Seattle climate activists took out a billboard in Seattle this week declaring, 'Say No to Blue Angels.' The billboard depicts two black people covering their ears, a Muslim granny shaking her fist, a white guy with a bullhorn, and a dog who can't even. The group, made up of members from local climate groups – so basically a Voltron of soy, including radical leftists 'Extinction Rebellion,' is planning to march and hold a rally Aug. 2 in protest of the Blue Angels airshow that weekend, Fox News reports. The billboard depicts people with hands over their ears and others raising their fists in protest of the jets, which they wrote cause 'war trauma' and pollution. At the billboard's unveiling on Tuesday, protesters held signs reading 'Demilitarize Seafair' and 'No military airshows.' The climate activists are calling for military fighter jets to be excluded from participating in the annual event and demanding military airshows be scrutinized for their 'harmful waste of resources, pollution and carbon emissions.' The Billboard's designer, Aedan McCall, lived on Mercer Island for more than a decade before leaving after the show triggered him. 'The sheer amount of carbon emissions the Blue Angels create – 670 tons in one weekend – is immense and wasteful on top of being a big display of U.S. militarism,' McCall told The Seattle Times . Meanwhile, community organizer Kimberly Larson created a petition calling for the end of the Blue Angels show – which more than 5,000 people have signed. Cat lady Lauren Ann Lombardi has sued Blue Angels officers in federal court, claiming that he sickly, elderly cat was 'terrorized' by the Blue Angels' 'state-sanctioned acoustic torture..' The lawsuit claims that the noise of low-flying F/A-18 fighter jets gave the cat panic attacks, who was already in critical condition due to her worsening congestive heart disease, and eventually led to her euthanasia in August 2024. So to be clear, the cat was on death's door and was voluntarily euthanized – but the Blue Angels gave the cat a panic attack, allegedly hastening its demise. Lombardi is also pissed that the Blue Angels blocked her profanity-laced tirades on Instagram, and is seeking a court order to unblock her account and prohibit the Blue Angels from blocking any other accounts 'on the basis of viewpoint.' Also read: Billionaire Ray Dalio Urges Investors to Allocate 15% of Portfolios to Gold and Bitcoin
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Triton College's Space Center teams with Polish filmmaker to focus on Earth
Three aliens are in danger of losing their food source when they crash land on Earth in 'The Stellars: Mission Green' by Warsaw, Poland-based Creative Planet. The trio will have to learn how plants, insects and fungi keep forests healthy in the interactive film for ages 3-8, which will be shown at 7 p.m. Saturdays and 9:45 a.m. Wednesdays through August, at the Triton College Cernan Earth and Space Center, 2000 Fifth Ave., River Grove. Tickets are $8 for adults; $4 for seniors; and $4 for ages 2-17. The movie was inspired by the son of Maciej Ligowski, who is the CEO of Creative Planet. He related by Zoom from Poland, that he recalled his son telling him all the details of the movie 'Cars.' 'We wanted to produce movies for kids,' Ligowski said. 'I realized if you make a haunting hero, the kids will remember it forever.' He decided, 'Why don't I make a movie with something I want him to remember?' Ligowski produces movies that are educational, 'where the science is wrapped in a story so the kids don't feel that they're being taught. It's natural because they need this knowledge to understand the story,' he said. After Creative Planet had produced a film for older children, they targeted younger ones in 'The Stellars: Mission Green,' for which Ligowski was the producer and director. Climate, cooperation, and protecting the sun are all addressed in the film. The focus of the movie is what plants need to live. 'It connects with environmental issues,' Ligowski said. 'We tried to simplify it for kids and make them respect nature and appreciate it.' To make the script both accurate and appropriate for the age group, the team at Creative Planet consulted with scientists and a child psychologist, he said. Filmmakers decided to make the movie interactive so children wouldn't get bored and they would understand the story better. Subtle clues in the film will make it easier for young audience members to help the aliens, Aki, John, and Imani, achieve their goal of restoring their food source. Kris Kovach McCall, director of Cernan Earth and Space Center at Triton College said, 'While the target audience is young people, there's actually a lot of good information for adults, there's humor for adults. It's not just for kids. Yes, it's presented in an animated kind of scenario but the content is really good for everybody. We can all stand to learn more about how forests work. This is a really cool show.' McCall said the center has been trying to get this show for a year because it fits Cernan's mission. Even though a lot of what they do at Cernan is about astronomy and space exploration, 'We are also the Earth and Space Center,' she said. 'We talk about all the sciences. We also talk about history, culture, art, music, and everything else. We don't want to be pigeonholed.' The film teaches the appreciation of such things as bugs and mushrooms, McCall observed. 'All life is connected,' she declared. 'My goal when they leave the dome is that they are a little bit different people than when they entered,' Ligowski said. 'They experienced something that transports them.' Information is at 708-456-0300 or
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
UK's ITV half-year comes in ahead on advertising beat, shares rise
British broadcaster ITV said its first-half performance beat forecasts, boosted by better-than-expected total advertising revenue, and strong content demand at its Studios business, pushing its shares higher. ITV is Britain's biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, with two divisions, Media and Entertainment, which includes its broadcast channels and streaming service ITVX, while Studios makes content such as 'The Devil's Hour' for Amazon Prime Video, and 'Run Away' for Netflix. Shares in ITV traded up 9% in early deals, hitting their highest for a year, after it said it was on track to meet targets, and had outperformed in a tough advertising market, given the comparison against the same period last year when the Men's Euros soccer tournament sent revenues soaring. "We've been able to mitigate a softer market," CEO Carolyn McCall told reporters on Thursday. ITV was also positive on the cost outlook, saying it had found an additional 15 million pounds ($20.4 million) of permanent non-content cost savings for this year, and added it would spend 1.23 billion pounds on content in total in 2025, lower than the 1.25 billion pounds previously guided. ITV has for some time been the subject of takeover speculation. In April, reports said it could sell its Studios business or merge it with a rival. "We won't comment on any of the speculation that has been going on for, I don't know, years," McCall said. "This whole sector, everyone talks to everyone, and everyone is talking to everyone. And you know that the board will keep all options under review." The group posted total advertising revenue (TAR) down 7% for the first six months, beating a consensus forecast for a fall of 8%. At ITV Studios, where profits will be weighted to the second half due to the timing of high-margin sales such as Rivals season 2 for Disney+, the company said its outlook was unchanged after revenues grew 3% in the first-half.
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Saturday with hairstylist Michael Douglas: 'Davina has been a big inspiration and influence'
07.30 Even on weekends I get up at around 7.30am or 8am – I can't help it. The first thing I do is look at my phone. For work, mostly, but also to see if anyone has sent me something funny. If we have posted something on Friday @mdlondon on Instagram I'll check the comments and get back to any questions. People think that I have someone do all my social media but I do about 75% of the replies myself and often send people video messages as it's easier than typing. 08.00 I eat breakfast four times a week and fast on the other days. On a Saturday I'll relax outdoors with my first coffee of the day and then work out on an empty stomach. I'll usually try to get in a 5km run, some kind of yoga or stretching and weight training. 09.00 After my workout I'll have a breakfast of a mackerel fillet, two eggs and another coffee. As I've gotten older I've become more keen on looking after myself. I haven't eaten a McDonald's for two years and I loved a Big Mac! I'm just trying to be realistic about my body and what's good for it. I'm slowly dying – I think that's a good way to look at it. I'd like to be as fit and healthy as possible until the final minute. Davina [McCall, wife] has been a big inspiration and influence. She's a very healthy eater and I really wanted to sync up our lives so that we were both eating similar things. 10.00 I'll call my mum and brother and do a few chores – I love a bit of DIY around the house. 12.30 I'll have a a piece of salmon and some salad and drink plenty of water. I'll head into Tunbridge Wells, have a little mooch around and pick up any bits and pieces we need. I'll play a bit of piano. I began learning it when I was about 30. I'm not particularly good at it but I really enjoy it. If we have a party I'll often play for people – it gives me the motivation to learn new songs and to learn to play better. I do a lot of talking all week with work so I enjoy not talking much at the weekend. We live near a woodland so we always go walking at the weekend. It's becoming more important as we get older to appreciate the majesty of nature, plants and animals. 15.00 Mid-afternoon we'll usually have some mates over. We'll open a bottle of red wine or rosé and enjoy a bit of a catch up. We don't usually do much visiting – friends and family tend to come to ours. We also love our own company, and, as work is already very sociable, my social battery can run down a bit so having time to myself is a real treat. 17.00 In the early evening the kids might come around to visit, well, they're not really kids anymore – they're 19 and 21. We'll have a bite to eat together at home. I might make a risotto with mushrooms and chicken and whatever else is in the fridge. I eat out a lot during the week. We love Pho and I also love the spaghetti alle vongole at Randall & Aubin in Soho – it's my favourite meal. 19.00 At around 7pm we will usually stick on a movie to watch. An ideal Saturday would be spent in Ibiza. Over the past five years we have met new friends who have homes there and have created some fantastic memories and experiences there. We both love dancing, we'll dance anywhere really, but Pikes is a fab place as is the night of ELROW at UNVRS. We love it when one of our friends hosts a party at their house and books a DJ – our favourite is GALLiVANTER. We love meeting people out and about but dancing with just your mates sometimes feels more free. 21.00 Generally, I like to keep things low-key on the weekends because mid-week is always so busy for me. Mid-week I'm busy with making content, seeing clients, seeing my kids, going out for dinner with various people that might be important to me and my business. Generally keeping the machine of life moving forwards and upwards. The networking part of my job mid-week is pretty relentless – keeping people engaged with the business is what makes it tick so sometimes it's really fine and sometimes it's quite hard work. I take the rough with the smooth. If I'm going out on Saturday night, I love to go to a gig. All my partying is done mid-week so the weekends are generally about recovering. Celebrity hairstylist and OGX brand ambassador Michael Douglas recently visited Dublin to launch the brand's newest haircare range Rescue Fusions. The new OGX Rescue Fusions range is designed to revive stressed hair and includes a Hyaluronic Acid Shampoo and Conditioner as well as targeted treatments including a pre-shampoo and an overnight mask formulated to strengthen, hydrate and protect your hair without weighing it down.
The National
22-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
Rangers hero considered signing Ibrox star for English club
The former Ibrox and Scotland midfielder is currently assistant to ex-Hibs boss Paul Heckingbottom at Preston North End but the pair were previously at the Blades together. McCall is a huge fan of a current Rangers man who plays a similar role to the one he did in the 90s, Raskin. He is optimistic about his old club's chances under someone else he rates highly, Russell Martin. Assessing the new manager's transfer business, though, he admits to a concern about what Joe Rothwell's signing means for Raskin. Speaking to the Scottish Sun, he said: 'I like some of his signings. I've seen Joe Rothwell down here and he's a good player, but my only concern with him is, does it mean Nico Raskin's going? 'I hope not because he's one I've always liked — I looked at him with a view to bringing him to Sheffield United. Read more: 'If they have Raskin, Rothwell and Mohamed Diomande that's a good midfield, with Connor Barron as back-up. 'The lad Thelo Aasgaard I saw bits of at Wigan and Luton and he's also a good player. Same with Max Aarons, he should handle the Premiership fine. 'As is always the case, it's about whether they have the attitude to deal with Scotland and the scrutiny that comes if you lose a couple.' McCall believes Martin's philosophy can work at Rangers but he needs the players to be on the same wavelength. He added: 'I like Russell, I worked with him when I was involved on the coaching side with Scotland. He thinks deeply about the game and he's shown that at Swansea and Southampton. 'He has a specific way he wants to play and that's fine as long as the players buy into it. 'It can be successful but it needs to have everyone on board.
