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A 2023 gift guide that will strike a chord: 10 ideas for the music lover in your life

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:11 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For the obsessive record collector or the casual listener, the shower singer or the rock star of tomorrow, a music-inspired gift is never a faux pas over the holidays. The challenge, of course, is in the decision making. Is a genre-specific festival ticket the way to go? What about a box set fit for a budding audiophile? Here’s a variety gift guide for the audio lover in your life — from photo card binders for the K-pop superfan to a pair of some of the best headphones on the market and a cheese board that looks surprisingly hi-def. It’ll be music to their ears. GIVE ‘EM SIMONE: There are vinyl box sets, and then there is “Four Women: The Nina Simone Complete Recordings 1964-1967,” a massive, seven-LP collection built from the seven albums Simon released for the Philips label during her most prolific creative period. That’s 1964’s “Nina Simone in Concert” and “Broadway-Blues-Ballads”; 1965’s “I Put A Spell On You,” “Pastel Blues”...

Blue Jays reportedly open to trading Alek Manoah

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:11 GMT

After taking a major step back in 2023, the Toronto Blue Jays are “open to moving” right-handed starter Alek Manoah, rival executives tell The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.Coming off a 2022 campaign in which he posted a 2.24 ERA and finished third in AL Cy Young voting, the 25-year-old logged a 5.87 ERA and was sent to minor leagues on two separate occasions — including a season-ending demotion in August — this past season.Rosenthal does say that how open Toronto is to moving its 2019 first-round pick “remains to be seen,” but adds, “the Jays’ rotation depth is prompting inquiries from other clubs. The team’s need for position players seemingly would make a move possible.”At the GM Meetings earlier this month, general manager Ross Atkins told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi that Manoah “has earned already the right to have a strong leg up” for one of the spots in the Blue Jays’ rotation. Related: Blue Jays o...

Transport trailer catches fire in plaza parking lot in Brampton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:11 GMT

A transport trailer has been damaged after a fire in the Airport Road and Bovaird Drive area in Brampton on Monday morning. Peel police received a call at approximately 7:14 a.m. of a transport trailer on fire in a plaza parking lot.There are no reports of injuries at this time.BramptonFire remains on scene investigating alongside police.

A dozen fresh-picked holiday gift ideas for gardeners

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:11 GMT

The best holiday gifts for gardeners are the ones that keep their minds in the dirt, even during the off-season.These gardening and garden-themed gifts will sow the seeds of anticipation for greener days to come and spread a little sunshine just when it’s needed most.SMART VIDEO CAMERA BIRD FEEDER: This device not only feeds your feathered friends but also identifies and records them as they visit. Mount it outdoors, then download the free app to your iPhone (iOS 11 or later) or Android (OS 5.0 or later) and connect it to your Wi-Fi network. When a bird lands on the solar-charged feeder, AI identifies its species and sends alerts, ultra-wide HD images, live stream video with sound, and species details to your smartphone. Includes 8 GB memory card. $219.99 at sharperimage.com.HYDROPONIC SMART GROWER: This award-winning grow system allows you to grow fresh food indoors year-round without sunlight or soil. The 16-plant unit has 86 LED lights and 10 smart sensors that monitor plants rem...

Jordan Fisher goes into ‘Hadestown’ on Broadway, ‘stretching every creative muscle’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Jordan Fisher is going to hell this winter and he’s very happy about it.The actor and singer star enters Broadway’s “Hadestown,” the brooding 2019 Tony Award-winning musical about the underworld, which intertwines the myths of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone.The actor, whose Broadway credits include “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Hamilton,” will step into the role of Orpheus beginning Monday night at the Walter Kerr Theatre, succeeding original cast member Reeve Carney.Fisher, also known for his work in the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” and winning “Dancing With the Stars,” chatted with The Associated Press on the eve of his new gig, revealing how he might have manifested the role.Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.___AP: Have you been a fan of “Hadestown” a long time?FISHER: I saw the show right after they opened. I think it was like the second week of it being up and I was absolutely blown away, right? I grew u...

Youth stabbed, seriously injured after meet-up to sell headphones in Pickering

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:11 GMT

A male youth was seriously injured in a stabbing after a public meet-up to sell a pair of headphones that police say resulted in the victim being ambushed in an attempted robbery.Durham Regional Police were called to a plaza in the area of Kingston Road and Whites Road just before noon on Monday, Nov. 13, following reports of an armed person.A male youth allegedly planned to meet another male to sell a pair of headphones. Police said the victim was at the meet-up point and was surrounded by four males who attempted to rob him at knife-point.The male victim suffered a stab wound to the hand before all suspects fled the area. Police said the youth was transported to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.Three of the four male suspects wore a face mask or covered their faces at the time of the incident. They remain wanted by investigators.

Pop art to ballet, reach for a nonfiction read when choosing holiday gifts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A good book packs power. A good book thoughtfully chosen as a gift can add a layer of joy.The holidays are a great time to track down just the right coffee table reads for loved ones. There’s a wide array this time of year. Some options:“Slim Aarons: The Essential Collection,” photographs by Slim Aarons, text by Shawn Waldron. The World War II photographer turned Hollywood insider had incredible access to the uber rich, from the pools of Palm Beach to the ski slopes of Gstaad. But he was so much more, shooting war orphans in Rome to tailgaters in Aiken, South Carolina. This hefty career-spanning collection has meaty text and includes more than 100 previously unpublished photos. Getty Images purchased his archive in 1997. Abrams. $175.“The Christmas Book,” by Phaidon editors, with essays by David Trigg, Sam Bilton and Dolph Gotelli. The holiday, in festive cultural imagery. This is a jolly look at Christmas via design and artifacts. There’s a history of Ch...

Movie Review: Disney’s musical fairy tale ‘Wish’ is beautiful, but lacking magic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:11 GMT

Walt Disney Animation’s “Wish” is stunning to look at with textured and rich watercolor-inspired animation and easter egg treasures for audiences nostalgic for the classics. But it is also more concept than story: A strained and forgettable attempt to pay homage to the studio’s 100 years. The origin of the wishing star is as fine a motivation as any for a jumping off point, but “Wish,” directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, seems to have been drawn not from someone’s earnest imagination and dreams, but a corporate board trying to reverse-engineer magic and charm.Case in point: In one of the awfully generic songs, “I Am a Star,” a cute, talking rabbit chirpily sings to our heroine Asha that “when it comes to the universe, we’re all shareholders.” Ugh.I’m probably not alone in having learned several vocabulary words from Disney songs as a child, but there is something so dispiriting about hearing the word “shareholders” in what is supposed to be a rallying, i...

From saving elephants to pleasing football fans, here are some holiday gift ideas for all

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Staring down a hefty holiday gift list? There’s something for everybody out there. Artisan gifts can be a hit. Head to Etsy.com to tap into the global handmade marketplace’s trends for the season. This year, they include “grandpa chic,” a counterpoint in home decor to the “granny chic” and “coastal grandma” vibes of recent years. In homage to gramps, think rich tones of burgundy, olive green and tobacco brown, and lots of dark woods, plaid textiles and leather. “The interest in adding more texture and depth to the home is more important than ever,” said Etsy trend expert Dayna Isom Johnson.If you haven’t got time for that or any other gift hunt, consider one or more of these:SAVE AN ELEPHANT: The women founders behind The Elephant Project donate 100% of their proceeds from the plush elephants they sell to organizations that help fight poaching and care for injured and orphaned elephants. A choice of four different stuffies or a bundle of three...

Carlton Pearson, influential Oklahoma megachurch founder who rejected hell, dies at age 70

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:05:11 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The founder of a former megachurch in Oklahoma who was branded a heretic and lost one audience — but gained a new one — after he rejected the idea of hell and supported gay rights has died, his agent said Monday.Bishop Carlton Pearson died Sunday night in hospice care in Tulsa due to cancer, said his agent, Will Bogle. Pearson was 70.Early in his ministry he was considered a rising star on the Pentecostal preaching circuit and frequently appeared on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, bringing him to an international audience.From a ministry he started in 1977, Pearson in 1981 founded Higher Dimensions Family Church in Tulsa — later known as New Dimensions Church, whose membership numbered about 6,000 by the turn of the century.Membership plummeted to a few hundred by 2008 after Pearson began teaching what he called “the gospel of inclusion,” a form of universalism, which does not recognize hell.Bogle said Pearson told him that he did not believe he had made a mis...