Latest news with #Nicholas
New York Times
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Year in the Life (and Mind) of a Precocious Teenager
PAN, by Michael Clune Nicholas, a restive 15-year-old recently diagnosed with a panic disorder, stares out a school window one February morning and observes: 'The sun had lost its winter quality. In winter the sunlight stands apart from things. When the winter sun touches the brick of the path, it's like a hand touching a cheek. But when the spring sun touches brick, it goes into it.' Then, having offered this lush, near-supernatural vision in granular detail, Nicholas tears off a scrap of notebook paper, writes 'SPRING HAS STARTED,' wads it up and chucks it at his classroom crush. This is the rhythm of Michael Clune's first novel, 'Pan' — a steady oscillation between deliciously observed, ferociously strange fragments of consciousness and the social kabuki of the tragicomic teenage bildungsroman. Nicholas lives with his father in the placid suburbs of Chicago. He's preternaturally smart and obsessed with social standing at his Catholic high school. When he starts getting panic attacks, he's advised by a doctor to treat them by breathing into brown paper bags. He tries it, to mixed results. 'They're medical bags,' Nicholas explains to a skeptical nun who thinks he's going to steal things in them. He and his best friend, Ty, take up with Tod, a popular kid — 'he appeared to be possessed by a level of coolness that was totally unique in our high school' — with access to weed. They start going to Tod's barn, where most of the story takes place, and get stoned with Tod's older brother, Ian, and Nicholas's crush, Sarah. The characters trade half-baked argle-bargle ('Do you want to know the secret of how to get solid mind?'), discuss classics ('Maybe daylight is the rock … Sissyfuss's rock') and participate in bizarre rituals set up by Ian, who becomes something of a deranged cult leader. Nicholas's stoner-savant voice ('Bach is like math class for feelings') sometimes swerves into a register well beyond any teenager's ('As the days passed, my consciousness developed a queer economy'). This can be jarring, especially since Clune has so elegantly set up a narrative playground where we can reasonably believe Nicholas is stumbling into Bach, Baudelaire, Camus and Wilde. Reading his experience of these raptures is invigorating and often hilarious. It's not all high art either; Nicholas and Sarah love Boston's 'More Than a Feeling' with an effervescent lack of irony. There are a handful of instances, however, when readers may feel the snag of Wait a minute, that's not Nicholas talking — that's Michael Clune. I was reminded of Robert Hayden's poem 'Those Winter Sundays,' in which we feel the presence of a fully mature author in a scene taking place in his youth. The tacit temporal delta allows the author an idiom ('love's austere and lonely offices') that he wouldn't have had at such a young age. Like 'Those Winter Sundays,' 'Pan' is written in the past tense, but I can recall only two overt acknowledgments of this gulf, one when Nicholas describes the emptiness of his father's walls: 'In reality there probably was something on the walls, but I can't see it from the angle I'm looking at it, coming from the future.' The other happens at the very end of the book, in a two-sentence coda. Still, when we're really in Nicholas's mind, we never want to leave. He loves 'Salome' but says of Wilde's other plays: 'They were about rich English people who ate cucumber sandwiches and did things like threaten to leave the room.' When he feels a panic attack coming on, Nicholas begins reading the first book at his side, a paperback edition of 'Ivanhoe.' As long as Nicholas stays in the story, he can keep the attacks at bay. Unfortunately, he finishes the novel: 'At 4:35 a.m. 'Ivanhoe' ended. I put down the book. … Then I walked downstairs and told Dad that I was having a heart attack.' I used to teach middle and high school, and I remember acutely how often people condescended to my students' feelings, using phrases like 'it's just a phase' or 'puppy love' to describe the emotional realities of human beings at an age when they're most self-conscious, most emotionally volatile, most skinless. Clune understands that at any given stage of our lives, we are yoked to unprecedented subjectivities. Nicholas can't experience suffering outside his own any more than I can experience the pain of childbirth right now. This means compassion is a function of imagination, and watching Nicholas's empathy come robustly alive and calibrate itself against his panic and his parents' divorce, against art and friendship and sex, is thrilling. 'Pan,' named after the Greek god who Nicholas suspects is provoking his panic attacks, is a novel of the racing, wasted, disordered mind: Don't expect much in the way of big narrative twists. This is simply one year in the life of a precocious suburban kid. The juice here is watching Clune's little cyclones of thought, vortical whooshes around art, drugs, sex and analysis. (There is a scene with a therapist and biofeedback monitor that I will never forget.) Clune has previously published excellent works of nonfiction, including 'White Out,' about time and the author's heroin addiction, and 'Gamelife,' a brilliant and strange sequence of essays exploring video games as a metaphysical foil. In his fiction debut, he is writing in the tradition of Proust, Sebald, Jenny Offill, Teju Cole and Nicholson Baker, writers whose eccentricities manifest in singular voices that are propulsive enough without pyrotechnic narratives. Like a great painter, Clune can show us the mind, the world, with just a few well-placed verbs: 'The afternoon wore 'Gilligan's Island' colors … like '60s television, bleeding out a little over the edges of shapes. Like dead people remembering earth.' I could have read 300 pages of just this — Nicholas looking out the window and describing what he saw — and felt that I'd gotten my money's worth. PAN | By Michael Clune | Penguin Press | 323 pp. | $29
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Al Roker Says He's 'Very Proud' of Son Nicholas as He Celebrates His 23rd Birthday with Touching Tribute
NEED TO KNOW Al Roker's son is another year older The Today weatherman shared a sweet video on Instagram Reels to celebrate his son Nicholas' 23rd birthday, sharing an assortment of throwback and recent pictures of his son Roker is also a father to daughters Courtney and LeilaAl Roker's son is another year older! On Friday, July 18, the Today weatherman, 70, shared a sweet video via Instagram Reels to celebrate his son Nicholas' 23rd birthday. In the clip, which was set to Lenny Kravitz's "Happy Birthday," Roker included several pictures of his son from his childhood into adulthood, saying that he's "very proud of the young man he has become." "Happy Birthday to this guy. Hard to believe he is 23!" Here's a look at those 23 years. So very proud of the young man he has become. We love you, Nicholas!!" Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Al Roker (@alroker) In addition to Nicholas, Roker is a father to daughters Courtney and Leila. He first became a father in 1987 when his daughter Courtney, 37 – whom he shared with his late ex-wife Alice Bell — was born. Following his divorce from Bell in 1994, Roker wed Deborah Roberts in 1995 and the couple went on to have two children together: daughter Leila, 26, and son Nicholas. The meteorologist often boasts about Nick's many talents and accomplishments — of which the college student has plenty. He has a black belt in Taekwondo and began training for a marathon. When he was 16 years old he won two gold medals at the Special Olympics New York Summer Games for the 25-yard butterfly and 50-yard freestyle swim races. "He's very goal-oriented and he's a great kid," Roker said of Nick in 2020. "As a lot of parents who have kids who have special needs [know], they can try your patience. Not that they mean to, or anything like that. I look at him and all that he does and I want to be a better person." Unsurprisingly, Roker was every bit the beaming dad and said he "could not be prouder" of his son. On Sunday, May 18, Roker shared several photos celebrating his son on his major accomplishment of graduating college. In the five-photo carousel, the proud dad shared throwback photos of him and his wife posing alongside their son as they dropped him off for his freshman year. He also included several snaps and a video from his son's graduation, including a picture of them after the ceremony. "Three years ago, we dropped him off as a first year college student," he wrote. "Today @nickroker155has his #associatesdegree in #communications and we could not be prouder of how hard he has worked and is determined to get his #bachelorsdegree Way to go, my boy." is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! Earlier that month, the Today anchor, who became a 'pop-pop' in July 2023 when daughter Courtney gave birth to baby girl Sky Lara, shared with PEOPLE how he's going to take advantage of being a grandfather. "I'm going to do everything I didn't do as a parent with my grandchildren," he told PEOPLE. "I am breaking all the rules." He continued to joke, "This kid's going to be on sugar overload. She's going to get whatever she wants. It's going to be fantastic." He then explained that being a grandparent "outranks everything," including breaking the rules, "Because then I leave." "It's like, 'Okay, she's all revved up. Here you go. Bye. Got to go. Pop Pop's got a date with a ghost,' " he jokingly added. Read the original article on People
Time of India
2 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Nicholas Sykora signs with Owen Sound attack to venture beyond his father's shadow
Nicholas Sykora signs with Owen Sound attack to venture beyond his father's shadow (Image Via Twitter) Coming into the junior hockey stage for another date, Nicholas Sykora, the gifted son of two-time NHL Stanley Cup winner Petr Sykora, has officially been signed by the Owen Sound Attack. Nicholas, selected 57th overall at the 2025 OHL Priority Selection, brings with him speed, skill, and vision to a promising Owen Sound lineup already. Though the pendulum will surely swing toward comparing him with his father, at 18, and before his departure to Quinnipiac University in 2026, he is concerned with building an identity of his own in the OHL. Nicholas Sykora adds more talent to a young combination of Owen Sound After turning 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists) through 61 games in the USHL with Omaha Lancers and Sioux City Musketeers, Nicholas Sykora's arrival in the OHL is met with much anticipation. His game involved fast transitions, deceptive puck handling, and a deadly one-timer from the right circle, especially in power-play situations. The Roseland, New Jersey, native has the nicest sense of positioning to slot his passes across the slot and create space for others to move in. From EliteProspect: A player that can perform under both structured and open-ice conditions, combining raw speed with decision-making ability under pressure. The capacity to read a defense and maintain puck control amidst tight checking is going to be pertinent as he adjusts to the faster and more physical nature of the OHL. The arrival of Sykora is seen by the Owen Sound Attack as part of the rebuild that is aimed at young players with huge potential. With Nicholas joining forces with Pierce Mbuyi, Harry Nansi, Cole Zurawski, Michael Dec, and Tristan Delisle, a lot of excitement has been generated for the Attack's offensive future. The club hopes to develop Sykora into a contributor and a leader over the coming seasons. The new chapter begins for the son of Stanley Cup champion Petr Sykora Nicholas Sykora carries the name of a hockey legend; his father, Petr Sykora, played well over 1,000 NHL games and won Stanley Cups with both the New Jersey Devils (2000) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (2009). Yet, Nicholas is carving out his destiny. Taking the longer route, Nicholas is already committed to playing NCAA hockey at Quinnipiac University beginning in the 2026–27 season. Such a commitment shows maturity and patience, and this maturity and patience will certainly serve him in the OHL draft. With Owen Sound offering a perfect growth opportunity, this next phase of his hockey career may just be the emergence of the younger Sykora from the shadows into his limelight. Also Read: Connor Zary contract talks: Why the Calgary Flames must prioritize the 23‑year‑old forward The transfer of Nicholas Sykora to Owen Sound marks a strategic step in his career. While his surname spells expectations, it is his potential that holds the promise for the fans of the OHL in the seasons to come. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Spectator
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Definitely the film of the week: Four Letters of Love reviewed
In the brief lull between last week's summer blockbuster (Superman) and next week's (Fantastic Four) you may wish to catch Four Letters of Love. Based on the internationally bestselling novel (1997) by Niall Williams, it's a quiet, lyrical, Irish love story featuring a superb cast (Helena Bonham Carter, Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne) and no dinosaurs marauding through town. Or none that I noticed, I should add. (See: Jurassic World Rebirth, week before last.) Williams has adapted his own book and the director is Polly Steele (The Mountain Within Me, Let Me Go). The film is set in 1970 or thereabouts and our narrator is Nicholas (Fionn O'Shea), a Dublin teenager whose father William (Brosnan) works for the civil service 'until one empty afternoon God spoke to him for the first time'. The light coming in from a window falls on his blotting paper in such a way that he decides it's divine intervention and he's being told to leave his employment and become a painter. 'I have to do it,' he explains to his incredulous wife Bette (Imelda May). 'It's what God wants me to do.' He grows his hair long and disappears for months on end to the west coast to pursue his painterly ambitions, while Nicholas, a solemnly earnest soul, frets and Bette slowly loses her mind. I wasn't sure I could root for someone whose self-actualisation necessitates the abandonment of family but then remembered I've never experienced light hitting blotting paper in that way. (Or not that I have ever noticed, I should add.) I hoped he was a decent painter, at least, but we don't see a single picture until right at the end and he is certainly prophetic. Best leave it at that. The other main character is Isabel (Ann Skelly), who lives on an island off the Galway coast. She has an adored brother, Sean (Donal Finn), who was mysteriously struck down one day. He is now mute and in a wheelchair. She is a lively lass, a free spirit and all that, and we meet her on her 'last day of childhood', wheeling her brother to the beach, before sailing to the (strict) convent school on the mainland. Her schoolmaster father, Muiris (Byrne), who is also a poet, is preparing for her sad departure as is her mother, Margaret (Bonham Carter). We know that Nicholas and Isabel belong together and will find each other because he says so right at the outset. But how? And when? For most of the film we cut between the two characters as we follow the various twists and turns, which sometimes prove to be wrong turns, particularly when wrong lovers are taken, and sex is mistaken for love. There is magical realism, and ghosts, and poetry. It always feels like a literary adaptation, thanks to its extensive use of voiceover, which I tend to think of as cheating – show, don't tell? – and because the pair are mostly kept apart, their connection, when it comes, feels rather rushed and unearned. But Steele directs with a sure hand and there is much else to delight in here. The cinematography has never made the Irish coast look so gorgeous (or sunny) or the cottages, with their jewel-coloured interiors, so cosy and the performances are all excellent. In particular I would single out Bonham Carter whom you don't look at and think: Irish matriarch. But she is wonderfully compelling as one of those women who keeps everything afloat and just deals with whatever life throws at her. Her scenes with Byrne speak of a long marriage. The others bring sincerity, including Brosnan, although you do have to get over the hair. If you can. It's definitely the film of the week if you are in the mood for a film although, alternatively, there is Smurfs, the sixth in the franchise. Up to you.
Cosmopolitan
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
How to Cope When Your Fave (Like Lola Tung or Simone Ashley) Gets Cut From a Blockbuster
I almost fell to my knees when I read that Bridgerton star Simone Ashley had her role cut from the hit summer film F1. It didn't deter her from turning out a look at its premiere, but the news was met with fan confusion and ire. Why would cutting Simone even be considered? She's an up-and-coming starlet with a passionate fan base eager to support her every move! But as F1 director Joseph Kosinski explained to People, "It happens on every film, where you have to shoot more than you can use. There were two or three storylines that ultimately didn't make it into the final cut." Joseph did not lie. This incident is not an isolated one. That's become even more obvious with the news that Monsters breakout actor Nicholas Alexander Chavez and The Summer I Turned Pretty star Lola Tung had their sole scene in the upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer remake cut. Fans clocked that Nicholas and Lola weren't featured in the film's trailer or any other promotional materials earlier this summer, but their chop was confirmed by director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson at the premiere this week. She said plainly that their scene just didn't fit in with the final version of the movie. 'It was just one of those situations where it had nothing to do with Lola and Nicholas,' director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson explained, 'they are both so fantastic.' And so we have found a pretty dismaying summer 2025 trend: Young, popular, streamer-bred talent having their highly anticipated big-screen moments slashed! These are the talents we root for! Whose casting announcements are met with such fervent stan celebration that you'd assume some of the users online are taking home a cut of the actors' paychecks. The directors who commit to their creative vision instead of succumbing to the pressures of fanfare have my respect. But respect won't satisfy the curiosity I have about Nicholas Alexander Chavez's IKWYDLS performance. Disheartening as it may be, there's a history for this sort of thing. A young Timothée Chalamet famously had his role in Interstellar cut significantly back in 2014. Shailene Woodley's portrayal of Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 never saw the light of day. And we can learn from this history. So, to settle your worries about the widespread star slashing happening right now, here's a beginner's guide to surviving it. Tempting as it may be, let's not completely rule these films out just because they cut your fave. There are plenty of exciting names to watch these major projects for. For example, I Know What You Did Last Summer's cast features the cream of young Hollywood's crop—from Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline, to The Studio's scene stealer Chase Sui Wonders. Expand your horizons! Consider alternative stanning options! Support your local theaters! Think back to the day you first saw the IG story/press release/@FilmUpdates tweet that announced your fave's casting. Do you remember how hopeful you felt? The adorable press junket moments and red carpet looks you started to look forward to? That sweet sense of endless opportunity? Hold on to that feeling. Maybe revisit the projects that they haven't been brutally cut from. Pain isn't a forever feeling! I'm talking about the grainy paparazzi photos from the set. Or the blink-and-you-miss-it appearance in the film that was impossible to edit around. Maybe even pray that their scenes mysteriously leak on the internet one day. And consider watching the film extra closely. You can still catch a glimpse of Shailene Woodley during one climactic scene in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and try as the powers that be might, Simone Ashley's contributions to F1 couldn't be totally erased. (She can technically still be spotted in the movie, very briefly.) While you hold on to those aforementioned scraps, remember that many victims of The Movie Cut have gone on to do great things! Ex. the upcoming third season of The Summer I Turned Pretty, which I will be streaming to fill the Lola Tung-sized hole in my heart. These stars were cast for a reason—their talent, aura, and potentially their follower counts. Which means that in a dream world, there will be plenty more high-profile opportunities to come. And though I'm sure the fan outrage and advocacy are appreciated, please note that this is exactly what their agents are paid to do. There's (hopefully) more screentime in the days ahead.
