It’s a Five O’Clock World When The Whistle Blows

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People who can’t handle Hello Kitty not being a cat


By now you’ve already heard the purr-turbing news that beloved character Hello Kitty is not a cat. And then you heard that she is, instead, a British schoolgirl named Kitty White, born to parents George and Mary White.

Then you collected the pieces of your broken childhood to learn that, while she is not a cat, she may also not be a human. And then you heard she is a cartoon, but not a cat still, and actually a motif/personification.

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Then your mind exploded.

So what’s been going on with this adorable feline who once (and maybe still does) graced our notebook covers and bedazzled t-shirts

Christine R. Yano, author of

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How did Brangelina keep their wedding secret?


How’d they do it Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie managed a no-leaks wedding in France after some nine years and six kids together, and years of speculation on when and if they’d marry.

“A majority of celebrities are doing everything they can to keep their weddings private,” said David Tutera, a party planner whose celebrity wedding clients have included Star Jones and Shannen Doherty.

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One recent exception: The May wedding of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in Italy.

“Her camp always creatively provides at the right moment the pieces of the puzzle that eventually get put together – intentionally,” said Tutera, who has not worked with Kardashian.

Tutera, who stars on WE tv’s David Tutera’s Celebrations, said when it comes to keeping the wedding secret it’s all about the ironclad confidentiality agreement, for vendors anyway. The legal document binds them to monetary fines for sharing celebrity secrets.

And it’s also about keeping the actual planning process and execution short, he said. “Vendors are the first to leak. A shorter time frame of planning helps minimise that,” Tutera said.

Splashy or simple, high-profile or private, celeb couples have been all over the place on how they’ve handled the attention. Here’s a look back, including another highly anticipated wedding day – that of Pitt and his first wife, Jennifer Aniston:

THE JEN YEARS

In contrast to Brangelina’s intimate, tight-as-a-drum ceremony, Pitt’s last wedding was over the top. The US$1 million ceremony in 2000 included a 40-piece gospel choir, floating lotus flowers, a 13-minute fireworks display and imported candles from Thailand.

The newlyweds released a single photo of themselves from the wedding and reportedly struck a deal for the rest with the French magazine Paris Match, giving the undisclosed payment to charity.

They divorced 41/2 years later.

KIM KARDASHIAN AND KANYE WEST

Did your invitation get lost in the mail No worries. The lead-up in France to Kimye’s May 24 wedding in Florence, Italy, will be included in two upcoming Keeping up With the Kardashians episodes.

Before exchanging vows, the two held court in Paris, paraded for cameras and posted photos on Instagram from fashion designer Valentino’s 17th-century Chateau de Wideville. There were costume changes, including a sexy open-front white number for the new Mrs. Kardashian West.

And there was a welcome dinner at Versailles for only 150 guests, the reality TV star told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “We shared what we wanted to and we kept things private,” she said.

JAY Z AND BEYONCE

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The rap mogul put a ring on it in 2008 after six years of unconfirmed dating. They got married in his Manhattan apartment and tried to keep the fancy party under wraps. No such luck. The paparazzi snapped arriving guests, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, who recently “consciously uncoupled” while Bey and Jay remain hitched.

MICHAEL DOUGLAS AND CATHERINE ZETA-JONES

Glitz overtook privacy when these two brought old-fashioned glamour back for their swanky 2000 wedding. They married at The Plaza Hotel, drawing several hundred gawkers who craned to see inside arriving limos. The cost A reported $2 million.

Douglas and Zeta-Jones, who remain together, served the paparazzi hors d’oeuvres the night before.

ELLEN DeGENERES AND PORTIA de ROSSI

The pair gave People an exclusive interview and photos after their 2008 wedding, and the talk show hostess with the mostest showed off video on air. But only their closest family and friends watched them exchange vows at their Los Angeles home.

Both brides wore designs by fashion darling Zac Posen, the actress in a backless princess gown of white with a frothy light pink skirt and DeGeneres in a white tuxedo vest and matching trousers.

The couple sat on floor pillows during the ceremony with author Wayne Dyer, who officiated.

– AP

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Jimmy Kimmel builds $80,000 Friends set and reunites stars


If it was an episode of

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The Block is a crock


What a bore the first episode of The Block (TV3, 7.30pm, Tuesdays- Fridays) was as we howdy-doed the four couples chosen to renovate houses in Point Chevalier, Auckland.

Host Mark is back, looking suitably elder statesman with his George Clooney, crossed with a wire-haired terrier, grey-white hair and crinkly blue eyes. Then there is the comely brunette Shannon, there to look the part and herd the teams, though if you wanted to fatten the prize money, which they really oughta, shoulda – get rid of her role so that the winning couple get more than the lousy $80,000 They Shoot Horses Don’t They prize money.

It is still the same crappy deal, the four teams – if you can call a couple a team – slave their guts out for 12 long tedious weeks to completely renovate their homes before facing what has been in past seasons, the humiliation of reaching a pittance above the reserve (one year a couple got nowt).

The couples leave their jobs and homes to put themselves though their DIY paces and, yes, that is their choice – they put their hands up for it. But the gamble is very real as outraged fans of the shows throw dead cats at the screen when they see their favourite couple get nothing for their trouble.

Like an Australian couple on their Block, Jo and Damo “the oldest couple”, aged 34 and 36, are classified as positively geriatric, and had to postpone their honeymoon for what could become, as Damo predicts, “a horror moon”.

Described by his other half as a “hot cop” he sits stiffly next to his partner as if he’s a piece of the proverbial four-by-two.

Maree and James tick the colour box in aces – she is part Samoan and Chinese and he is Raro and Pakeha.

Quinn and Ben look like male and female models, and last but not least are Alex and Corban, the male pigeon pair hailing from my hometown of Rangiora now called Ranganui after most of Aranui fled there post-quake.

One very long introductory episode down of The Block and three months of padding to go, and all we have been served up so far are tedious challenges while not one foot has crossed the threshold yet.

The advertisement breaks come with laced ads for a certain hardware emporium and the couple’s choice of cars is mentioned ad nauseam. Dull, dull, dull.

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The good, the bad, the ugly … The Block

In case you’ve been living under a media-banishing rock and hadn’t heard, The Block NZ is back!

Love it or hate it, you’ll be hearing a lot more about it over the next 11 weeks. Every week, we’ll bring you the best and worst moments, plus talk through some of the scandals and cringeworthy scenes.

So, what’s happened so far

After faffing about with a few challenges, the contestants were finally introduced to a project that actually involved some building work – the upper level of an apartment block that had been divided into four spaces, with each needing to be turned into a themed hotel room.

Each couple had 48 hours to line, paint and furnish their room, and we were actually pleasantly surprised with how well they all turned out. The only thing that seems to be letting the show down is all the recaps (look, we saw it a minute ago, and no matter how dodgy our memories are, we remember that far back).

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Shakira pregnant with second child


Shakira is pregnant with her second child.

The Hips Don’t Lie singer confirmed the news to Cosmopolitan M

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Quietly, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie say, ‘I do’


Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have married in a private ceremony in their home in France over the weekend.

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Joan Rivers rushed to hospital after heart attack


Acerbic comedian and fashion critic Joan Rivers has been rushed to a New York hospital in critical condition after she stopped breathing during surgery on her vocal chords, local media report.

New York City Fire Department spokesman Jim Long said a patient reported to be in cardiac arrest had been taken from Yorkville Endoscopy to Mount Sinai Hospital by emergency workers responding to the call at 9.40am (1.40am today, NZT). He declined to name the patient due to privacy concerns, but the NBC television affiliate in New York identified the patient as Rivers, saying she stopped breathing during a procedure on her vocal chords.

Ken Baker, an entertainment journalist at E! News, said on his Twitter account that Rivers, 81, was now in stable condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. The E! cable TV network features Rivers as host of its show Fashion Police.

A representative for E! could not immediately be reached for comment. However, a spokesman for Rivers’ later told

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Kidman’s unforgettable experience


Playing a woman who has lost her memory has proved the perfect part for Nicole Kidman.

In Before I Go To Sleep, the Academy Award-winning Australian actress plays Christine, a woman who wakes every day remembering nothing as a result of a traumatic accident in her past until, one day, new terrifying truths emerge that force her to question everyone around her.

Based on SJ Watson’s best-selling novel of the same name, the movie also stars fellow Oscar-winner Colin Firth as Ben, the husband she no longer knows, while British actor Mark Strong plays Dr Nasch, the man who may or may not be helping her to regain her memory.

The role of Christine is a demanding one as the character is in every scene and voyages through tremendous highs and lows.

“From the minute I read the script it got under my skin,” Kidman says.

“It’s just really hard to find great thrillers and, for me, it was such a strong thriller. It’s probably my favourite film genre and I’d been looking and looking.

“I made a film years ago called The Others and it’s one of my favourite films that I’ve made. So I’ve been looking for something that has the same sort of twists and turns and thrills, and this had that.”

For Nicole, the film offers an emotional base which, she argues,

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