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The Long and Winding Road

<p>Road-trip preparedness. If you're planning on taking a road-trip for your next holiday, think beyond your standard checklist. Snacks, music and emergency kits are necessities, but pre-planning and forget-them-not extras will make for smoother trails ahead.</p> <p><span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;">Safety</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; background-color: #ffffff;"> Don’t wait until the last minute to have your car tuned up if you’re taking your own. Many a trip has been delayed or cancelled due to maintenance issues. If you haven’t already got roadside assistance, sign up with your insurer.</span></p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The right ride</span> Is your vehicle ideal for your trip? For maximum convenience, find one to match your itinerary. Opt for a fuel-efficient car for longer trips or get an all-wheel drive or four-wheel drive if you’re planning to explore back roads.</p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Insurance</span> If you already own a vehicle but are choosing to rent another for the trip, talk to your insurance provider about adding to your plan if you’re not already covered.</p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff; text-align: center;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">PACK SMART</span></p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A road atlas</span> You’ll probably bring a smartphone or GPS unit, but electronics can get lost or break down, and there are always some spots where you can’t get a signal. Road atlases never fail.</p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Stand-up comedy</span> When road trips don’t go as planned, moments of levity are scarce. Funny CDs or podcasts from your favourite comedian will release tension.</p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Refreshers</span> Wet wipes, travel-size deodorant and a small spritzer bottle full of water can bridge the gap until your next shower.</p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;"> </p> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif, Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #444444; background-color: #ffffff;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sports equipment</span> A Frisbee, skipping ropes or bocce balls will motivate you to take regular breaks and get your blood flowing.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/road-trips/long-winding-road" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>. </em></p>

Domestic Travel

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The Wind in the Willows — a tale of wanderlust, male bonding, and timeless delight

<p>Like several classics penned during the golden age of children’s literature, The Wind in the Willows was written with a particular child in mind.</p> <p>Alastair Grahame was four years old when his father Kenneth — then a secretary at the Bank of England — began inventing bedtime stories about the reckless ruffian, Mr Toad, and his long-suffering friends: Badger, Rat, and Mole.</p> <p>Alastair, born premature and partially blind, was nicknamed “Mouse”. Small, squinty, and beset by health problems, he was bullied at school. His rapture in the fantastic was later confirmed by his nurse, who recalled hearing Kenneth “up in the night-nursery, telling Master Mouse some ditty or other about a toad”.</p> <p>The Wind in the Willows evolved from Alastair’s bedtime tales into a series of letters Grahame later sent his son while on holiday in Littlehampton. In the story, a quartet of anthropomorphised male animals wander freely in a pastoral land of leisure and pleasure — closely resembling the waterside haven of Cookham Dean where Grahame himself grew up.</p> <p>In peaceful retreat from “The Wide World”, Rat, Mole, Badger, and Toad spend their days chatting, philosophising, pottering, and ruminating on the latest fashions and fads. But when the daredevil, Toad, takes up motoring, he becomes entranced by wild fantasies of the road. His concerned friends must intervene to restrain his whims, teaching him “to be a sensible toad”.</p> <p>Unlike Toad’s recuperative ending, however, Alastair’s story did not end happily. In the spring of 1920, while a student at Oxford, he downed a glass of port before taking a late night stroll. The next morning, railway workers found his decapitated body on tracks near the university. An inquest determined his death a likely suicide but out of respect for his father, it was recorded as an accident.</p> <p>Kenneth Grahame, by all accounts, never recovered from the loss of his only child. He became increasingly reclusive, eventually abandoning writing altogether.</p> <p>In his will, he gifted the original manuscript of Willows to the Bodleian Library, along with the copyrights and all his royalties. Upon his death in 1932, he was buried in Oxford next to his first reader, Mouse.</p> <p>A ‘gay manifesto’?<br />Biographical readings are a staple in children’s literature, and the criticism surrounding The Wind in the Willows is no exception. First published in 1908 — the same year as Anne of Green Gables and Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz — the novel was initially titled The Mole and the Water-Rat. After back and forth correspondence with Grahame, his publisher Sir Algernon Methuen wrote to say he had settled on The Wind in the Willows because of its “charming and wet sound”.</p> <p>Today, one of the mysteries surrounding the novel is the meaning of the title. The word “willows” does not appear anywhere in the book; the single form “willow” appears just twice.</p> <p>When Willows was first released in Britain it was marketed as an allegory — “a fantastic and whimsical satire upon life”, featuring a cast of woodland and riverside creatures who were closer to an Edwardian gentlemen’s club than a crowd of animals. Indeed, the adventures structuring the novel are the meanderings of old English chaps nostalgic for another time.</p> <p>The four friends, though different in disposition, are bound by their “divine discontent and longing”.</p> <p>Restless enough to be easily bewitched, they are rich enough to fill their days with long picnics and strolls. Most chapters are sequenced in chronological order, but the action revolves around different types of wandering – pottering around the garden, messing about in boats, rambling along country lanes.</p> <p>With the exception of a brief encounter with a jailer’s daughter, an overweight barge woman, and a careless mother hedgehog, there are no women in Willows. And excluding a pair of young hedgehogs and a group of field mice, all male, there are no children either.</p> <p>Given the novel’s strong homosocial subtext and absence of female characters, the story is often read as an escapist fantasy from Grahame’s unhappy marriage to Elspeth Thomson. Peter Hunt, an eminent scholar of Willows, describes the couple’s relationship as “sexually arid” and suggests Grahame’s sudden resignation from the bank in 1908 was due to bullying on the basis of his sexuality.</p> <p>Indeed, Hunt ventures to call the book “a gay manifesto”, reading it as a gay allegory heavy with suppressed desire and latent homoeroticism. In one scene, for example, Mole and Rat “shake off their garments” and “tumble in-between the sheets in great joy and contentment”.</p> <p>Earlier, while sharing a bed in the open air, Mole “reaches out from under his blanket, feels for the Rat’s paw in the darkness, and gives it a squeeze.” “I’ll do whatever you like, Ratty,” he whispers.</p> <p>For this reason, and others, some critics suggest that Willows is not a children’s book at all, but a novel for adults that can be enjoyed by children.</p> <p>Conservatism<br />Whether we read Willows as a simple animal story or a social satire, the narrative reinforces the status quo. Badger, for instance, resembles a gruff headmaster whose paternal concern for his friends extends to an earnest attempt to reform the inebriate Toad.</p> <p>Toad is a recognisable type of schoolboy, charming and impulsive but wildly arrogant and lacking self-control. In the end, he is punished for his foolish behaviour and forced to forgo his flamboyant egotism in humble resignation at Toad Hall. Similarly, Mole and Ratty are afflicted by wanderlust, but inevitably retreat to their cosy, subterranean homes. All of Grahame’s animals return to their “proper” place.</p> <p>This return to civility and quiet domesticity exemplifies a criticism often levelled at children’s literature: that such stories are more about the fears and desires of adults than those of children. (Alice in Wonderland, for instance, emphasises the importance of curiosity and imagination, but is also an attempt to socialise children into responsible citizenship.)</p> <p>Willows is a story about homecoming and friendship, but also a psychodrama about uncontrolled behaviour and addiction in Edwardian England.</p> <p>Creatures of habit<br />Perhaps the most famous scene in Willows — now also a popular ride at Disneyland — is Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. In the novel, the incautious Toad, who is oddly large enough to drive a human-sized car, is frequently in trouble with the law and even imprisoned due to his addiction to joyriding.</p> <p>At times delusional, the self-proclaimed “terror of the highway” writes off several vehicles before spiralling into a cycle of car theft, dangerous driving, and disorderly behaviour.</p> <p>Eventually, Toad’s motorcar mania becomes so unmanageable that his exasperated friends are forced to stage “a mission of mercy” – a “work of rescue” that contemporary readers might recognise as an intervention. This subtext of addiction underpins the arc of recovery, and is crucial for understanding the novel’s key themes: the limits of friendship, the loss of pastoral security, and the temptations of city life.</p> <p>Interestingly, in Badger’s attempt to help Toad break the cycle of withdrawal and recovery, and in Toad’s temporary abatement and relapse, the text points to another form of addiction: to alcohol.</p> <p>When Toad is banished to his country retreat — a typical “cure” for upper-class alcoholism at the time — Badger stresses he will remain in enforced confinement “until the poison has worked itself out of his system” and his “violent paroxysms” have passed.</p> <p>Again, the biographical foundation of the work is clear. Grahame’s father, Cunningham, was an alcoholic whose heavy drinking resulted, like Toad’s intoxication, in social exile, financial strain, and the loss of the family home.</p> <p>In The Wind in the Willows, Grahame employs animals to render all the ups and downs of human experience. In doing so, he captures the conflict and consonance between freedom and captivity, tradition and modernity.</p> <p class="p1"><em>Written by Kate Cantrell. This article first appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-the-wind-in-the-willows-a-tale-of-wanderlust-male-bonding-and-timeless-delight-151091">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

Books

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Gone With the Wind dropped for being racially unjust

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>The classic US film<span> </span>Gone With The Wind<span> </span>has been removed from HBO’s streaming platform due to mass protests worldwide against racism.</p> <p>The Oscar-winning US Civil War epic was released in 1939 and remains the highest-grossing movie of all time.</p> <p>However, its depiction of happy slaves and heroic slaveholders has garnered criticism.</p> <p>“’Gone With The Wind’ is a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society,” an HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement.</p> <p>“These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible.”</p> <p>“12 Years A Slave” writer John Ridley said in a Los Angeles Times op-ed Monday that “Gone with the Wind” must be removed as it “doesn’t just ‘fall short’ with regard to representation” but ignores the horrors of slavery and perpetuates “some of the most painful stereotypes of people of colour.”</p> <p>The film will return to the streaming platform at a later date, along with a discussion of its historical context.</p> <p>No edits will be made “because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.”</p> <p>“If we are to create a more just, equitable and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history.”</p> <p>It comes after Netflix has pulled British comedy series<span> </span>The Mighty Boosh<span> </span>and<span> </span>The League of Gentlemen<span> </span>for their use of blackface.</p> <p>Netflix also removed four popular Chris Lilley shows from its platform, which were<span> </span>We Can Be Heroes, Summer Heights High, Angry Boys<span> </span>and<span> </span>Jonah From Tonga.</p> <p>Netflix and Chris Lilley are yet to comment.</p> </div> </div> </div>

Movies

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The Gone With the Wind mansion could be yours - Can you guess for how much?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The beautiful antebellum property which inspired Margaret Mitchell’s </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gone With the Wind </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">is now up for grabs. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Located in Covington, Georgia, the plantation-style property was featured in Twelve Oaks, where one of the key characters, Ashley Wilkes, lived. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While Mitchell wanted little to do with the film adaption of her novel, she came across a mesmerising photograph of a mansion built in 1836 and immediately cut it out and posted it to then director David Selznick saying it was identical to the house she envisioned for Ashley Wilkes. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The film went on to win numerous Oscars. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Greek-revival mansion could be yours - with the bid starting from US$1 million. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After a full blown renovation on  the 12-bedroom, 13-bathroom property, it looks much different to when Michell first accidentally came across it. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With a massive, state-of-the-art kitchen, and a classy fresh feel, it is a home many could find solace in. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The area in which the house is located has been dubbed the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hollywood of the South</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, with over 125 films being shot there to date. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With beautiful hardwood floors, and soaring 11-foot ceilings - it is the ultimate home for entertaining. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The home also boasts a large dining room, new kitchen, a formal parlour, and personal library.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The home sits on over 3 acres of land, and includes Tesla charging station for cars and golf carts.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Outside, is a swimming pool with a historic pergola, covered porches and an expansive deck which is the perfect entertaining space. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For the last seven years, the special home has served as a bed and breakfast, and has also been an extremely popular venue for hosting weddings.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Scroll through the gallery above to see the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gone With the Wind </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">home. </span></p>

International Travel

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Batten down the hatches: Ferocious winds set to batter Australia

<p>With ferocious winds “thousands of kilometres long” set to hit southeast Australia for the next 24 hours, make sure you’re prepared for 100km’h winds and waves of up to 15 metres high.</p> <p>Severe weather warnings are in place for large parts of Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales, including areas that are close to Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart and Geelong.</p> <p>There are flood warnings that are out for parts of Victoria and Tasmania.</p> <p>Cape Grim on Tasmania’s west coast has already recorded winds of up to 95km/h and Essendon Airport in Melbourne’s north recorded a blast of 57km/h.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">⚠️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Warning?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Warning</a> current for damaging <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/winds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#winds</a> across the southeast including <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Illawarra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Illawarra</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SouthernTablelands?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SouthernTablelands</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SnowyMountains?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SnowyMountains</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SouthCoast?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SouthCoast</a>. Windy conditions likely to persist until later Thursday. Check the latest at <a href="https://t.co/Z11hCDKat1">https://t.co/Z11hCDKat1</a> <a href="https://t.co/SUtLd5w9V8">pic.twitter.com/SUtLd5w9V8</a></p> — Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) <a href="https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/1163940830014529536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">20 August 2019</a></blockquote> <p>“Gale force winds will continue to last for the next 48 hours as a pair of cold fronts whip across southeast Australia” said <strong><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.skyweather.com.au/" target="_blank" title="www.skyweather.com.au">Sky News Weather channel </a></strong>senior meteorologist Tom Saunders today to<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/band-of-gales-thousands-of-kilometres-long-to-batter-southeast-australia/news-story/a34e8c6e4cc71960fa0b74a769b63575" target="_blank">news.com.au.</a></em></p> <p>“There’s a long stretch of gales extending thousands of kilometres, and as a result, we’ll see massive waves along the NSW coastline averaging eight metres with maximums waves of 15 metres on Thursday and Friday,” said Mr Saunders.</p> <p>The cold fronts are set to bring wind but not much rain. Some heavy rainfall is forecasted for Tasmania, but light showers are set to hit Melbourne and no rain is forecasted for Sydney.</p> <p>Melbourne is set to reach a high of just 13 degrees on Thursday and a low of 5 degrees at night heading into Friday morning.</p> <p>Sydney’s average temperature will reach 20 degrees but will possibly be windy. Lows are looking to dip to 8 degrees.</p> <p>Perth is hitting a solid 25 degrees on Thursday, but heavy rain is set to sweep through overnight and into Friday.</p> <p>Darwin misses out on the bad weather entirely, as it will be sunny with a high of 32 degrees over the next few days.</p> <p>Canberra, however, is set to prepare for a freezing minimum of -5 degrees on Friday morning.</p> <p>Hobart is looking at a high of 11 degrees on Thursday but bracing itself for a low of 2 to 4 degrees over the next few nights.</p> <p>Adelaide is set to be cloudy with highs in the mid to high teens.</p>

Travel Trouble

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“She winds me up!” The unlikely feud between Delta Goodrem and this My Kitchen Rules judge

<p>When the words “celeb feud” come to mind, the names Colin Fassnidge and Delta Goodrem usually don’t.</p> <p>But in the most unlikely of scenarios, the<span> </span><em>My Kitchen Rules</em><span> </span>star has taken a dig at the singer.</p> <p>The Irish chef says while he’s a fan of<span> </span><em>The Voice</em>, Delta Goodrem “winds” him up.</p> <p>Sitting down with Jana Hocking on her podcast<span> </span><em>Sex Love Magic</em>, Colin recounted an incident that occurred at the Logies in 2018, when he had to pose with Delta.</p> <p>“They put me sitting in front of her at the Logies the last time and she’s behind me, and the photo of me with Delta … I was making a face,” he revealed.</p> <p>“My Missus said to me, ‘You realise you’re representing your company [sic]?’</p> <p>“I have no interest in Delta Goodrem!” he said, while adding: “I like<span> </span><em>The Voice,</em><span> </span>I think it’s a good show.”</p> <p>Delta has always attracted unwanted attention, especially after criticism surfaced over how she chooses to support her team on the show.</p> <p>The<span> </span><em>Born to Try</em><span> </span>singer told<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/" target="_blank">The Daily Telegraph</a></em><span> </span>in 2017 about the backlash, saying it’s “all just water off a duck’s back, because the reality of what I get to live with is very different.”</p> <p>“I have only the intention of making people’s day better, and if someone has an intention that’s the opposite of that, then that’s their problem,” he said.</p>

News

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10 surprising facts about Gone with the Wind

<p class="Default"><em>Gone with the Wind</em>, published 81 years ago today, has to be one of the most epic, classic books in history. Running for close to four-hours long, the movie adaptation was released in 1939 and has been capturing hearts (over and over) ever since. Here are 10 lesser-known facts about <em>Gone with the Wind</em>.</p> <p class="Default"><strong>1. Scarlett wasn’t cast until after filming started</strong></p> <p class="Default">With many leading actresses at his disposal, producer David Selznick still hadn’t decided who was best to play Scarlett when filming commenced. He used a stand-in to start shooting the “Burning of Atlanta” scene. It wasn't until after the fire blazed in the background on the scene that Vivien Leigh wangled an introduction to Selznick from the director’s brother. As legend has it, she was called in for a screen test immediately.</p> <p class="Default"><strong>2. Groucho Marx was the author’s preferred choice to play Rhett</strong></p> <p class="Default">The Rhett Butler that author Margaret Mitchell described in her book by the same name was darker and more nefarious than the one portrayed by Clark Gable. Mitchell said Groucho Marx best inhabited the qualities she’d given Rhett.</p> <p class="Default"><strong>3. Leigh almost lost the part after her first test reading</strong></p> <p class="Default">As a popular actress on the London stage, during her first informal reading Leigh didn't change her accent from her native English. Director Cukor said, “She began reading this thing very sweetly, and very, very clipped.... So, I struck her across the face with the rudest thing I could say. She screamed with laughter. That was the beginning of our most tender, wonderful friendship."</p> <p class="Default"><strong>4. The Daughters of the Confederacy campaigned against Vivien Leigh</strong></p> <p class="Default">The fact that Vivien wasn't a southern American girl ruffled many feathers. The Ocala, which is the Florida chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, was expressed that they were offended and tried to stop her playing the part. When they were found that the role could go to Katharine Hepburn, however, they stopped their protest as they though better an English woman than a Yankee.</p> <p class="Default"><strong>5. Leslie Howard despised playing Ashley.</strong></p> <p class="Default">After playing many roles of weak men before <em>Gone with the Wind</em>, a thin Howard only agreed to portray the handsome, 21-year-old, Ashley Wilkes, because Selznick offered him a producer credit in an upcoming film.</p> <p class="Default"><strong>6. Vivien Leigh brought a copy of the book to set every day to annoy director Fleming</strong></p> <p class="Default">When Cukor was replaced by the boorish Fleming, Vivien disagreed with much of his direction and was very unhappy. In protest, she carried a copy of the book to the set each day, reading each scene, to remind Fleming that she found the original source far superior to his interpretation.</p> <p class="Default"><strong>7. Gable begged not to be shown crying on camera</strong></p> <p class="Default">There’s a scene near the end of the film where Melanie tells Rhett that Scarlett has miscarried after Scarlett fell down the stairs. The scene is written with Rhett crying but afraid it would ruin in image, Gable threatened to walk off set at having to cry. Known for working well with male leads, Fleming shot two versions - one with Rhett crying and one with him not crying. Fleming was able to then convince Gable that the version with tears would actually endear him to the audience rather make him appear weak.</p> <p class="Default"><strong>8. There weren’t enough extras in the entire Screen Actors Guild to shoot the Confederate Wounded scene</strong></p> <p class="Default">To portray the dead and wounded Confederate soldiers toward the end of the war, Selznick insisted that no less than 2500 extras were needed to lie in the dirt. At the time, however, the Screen Actors Guild only had 1500 to offer. Selznick saved money by ordering 1000 dummies to round out the epic suffering he wanted to portray.</p> <p class="Default"><strong>9. Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American to win an Oscar, but was banned from the premiere</strong></p> <p class="Default">Sadly none of<em> Gone with the Wind’s</em> African-American actors were allowed to attend the premiere in Atlanta. Hattie McDaniel, who plays Mammy, won a Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance. Not only is it said that her speech - which contains a cringe-worthy reference to being “a credit to her race” - was written by the studio, it’s also reported that she sat at a segregated table at the back of the venue before and after her acceptance.</p> <p class="Default"><strong>10. One of the most beautiful shots in the film came down to advanced mathematics</strong></p> <p class="Default">In an early shot in the film, Scarlett and her father stand before a fading sun, surveying the beauty of Tara. Interestingly, though, nobody could figure out how to capture the shot. Back in those days technology wasn't advance enough to synch the actors, the sunset effect and two different matte paintings. The Math Department at UCLA were consulted and they came up with a way to fit everything together using advanced calculus.</p>

Books

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Gone with the Wind star Olivia de Havilland turns 100

<p>The last surviving cast member of Gone with the Wind and one of the true pioneers of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Olivia de Havilland, has celebrated her 100th birthday.</p> <p>de Havilland became a centurion on Friday, July 1, and is considered a real forerunner among the acting community, famously winning a contentious legal battle with Warner Brothers that would eventually give actors more freedom of choice in their careers.</p> <p>She earned two best actress Academy Awards for To Each His Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949), but it’s her role as Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1940) that we remember her most, where she starred alongside Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.<img width="500" height="343" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/23676/olivia-in-text_500x343.jpg" alt="Olivia In Text" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>In this video above, she’s presented with the award for Best Actress by James Stewart at the 22nd Academy Awards in 1950. Didn’t she just look so gorgeous?</p> <p>Of the case that would be her legacy, de Havilland once said, “I was very proud of that decision, for it corrected a serious abuse of the contract system ... No one thought I would win, but I did.”</p> <p>We think she still looks gorgeous today. Congratulations Olivia on such a spectacular milestone. Please share any messages of congratulations, or your favourite moment from Gone with the Wind in the comment section below. We’d love to hear from you.</p> <p><em>Video credit: YouTube / Oscars </em></p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/lifestyle/relationships/2016/04/beliefs-that-invite-true-love/"><em>5 beliefs that invite true love</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/lifestyle/relationships/2016/05/common-reasons-why-people-stay-in-a-bad-marriage/"><em>Common reasons why people stay in a bad marriage</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/lifestyle/relationships/2016/05/gary-chapmans-five-love-languages/"><em>5 ways giving love is the key to relationship success</em></a></strong></span></p>

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29 celebrities give their best “Gone with the Wind” impressions

<p>It’s arguably the most famous exchange in cinematic history. After years of an epic romance in <em>Gone with the Wind</em>, Scarlett O'Hara (played by Vivien Leigh) cries, “If you go, where shall I go? What shall I do.” The dashing Rhett Butler (played by Clark Gable) coldly rebuffs, “Frankly me dear, I don’t give a damn.”</p> <p>It’s a legendary line, and now <em>W Magazine</em> have asked 29 actors to recreate the famous exchange in a faux “audition tape”.</p> <p>The catch? The male actors, including the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Gere, and Eddie Redmayne, will deliver Scarlett’s desperate plea, whereas the actresses, which include Cate Blanchett, Charlize Theron and Carey Mulligan, give their best Rhett impersonation.</p> <p>Watch their gender-bending performance above!</p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/2015/11/get-smart-cast-then-and-now/">The cast of Get Smart – what they did next</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/2015/11/tabitha-stephens-bewitched-now/">What Tabitha Stephens of “Bewitched” looks like now</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/tv/2015/12/best-tv-shows-to-watch-these-holidays/">5 of the best TV shows to watch these holidays</a></em></strong></span></p>

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Wild winds sweeping across New Zealand

<p>Gales battering the capital are causing flights to be delayed, as wild weather hits much of the country.</p> <p>High winds overnight brought down trees and powerlines, and stirred up fires in the South Island.</p> <p>Gusts up to 130kmh were this morning slamming the capital, with Air New Zealand confirming numerous delays for travellers in and out of Wellington Airport.</p> <p><img width="500" height="375" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/11368/wild-weather-nz-two_500x375.jpg" alt="Wild Weather NZ Two" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>MetService data showed that Mt Kaukau above Wellington gusted to 133kmh on Friday morning, while Kelburn reached 130kmh, the Rimutaka Hill summit reached 120kmh, and Wellington Airport reached 91kmh.</p> <p>The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) issued a wind warning out for the State Highway 2 Rimutaka Hill Road and said motorcycles and high-sided vehicles should take extra care on the winding route between Wairarapa and Hutt Valley.</p> <p>Meanwhile power was out and roads were closed in parts of the South Island after overnight gales.</p> <p>"We had quite a number of trees being blown over and powerlines being ripped down, some just by the wind and others by trees falling on them," Fire Service southern communications shift manager Andrew Norris said.</p> <p>In Canterbury power was cut to 1000 homes in Banks Peninsula, but most had been restored except for 100 homes in Akaroa. Twenty-eight homes in Lake Coleridge are without electricity. Orion was investigating the faults, but expected the outages were wind-related.</p> <p>In Central Otago and Dunedin, power is out to homes in Port Chalmers, Wanaka, Dalefield, Lake Hayes, Lake Hayes Estate, The Neck and Makarora, Cardrona, Closeburn and Glenorchy, Springvale and parts of Alexandra.</p> <p><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/11369/wild-weather-nz-three_497x280.jpg" alt="Wild Weather NZ Three" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>MetService meteorologist Carl Loots said "extreme northwest winds" reached 100kmh in Dunedin and Invercargill, and 140kmh in Banks Peninsula. The biggest gust of 200kmh was recorded on Mt Hutt overnight.</p> <p>In Christchurch, powerful northwest winds are expected to rise to 110kmh, with a high of 24 degrees. As a front moves over the city about midday, the winds will ease and rain will set in.</p> <p>Overnight, firefighters were called out to fires near Rakaia and Invercargill, and about 2am crews were sent to help evacuate houses in Marlborough where a forest fire is burning.</p> <p>Around 3am the alarm was raised over a fire in a 300-metre long line of blue gum trees south of Rakaia. Five fire trucks were sent to the scene and had the blaze under control.</p> <p>Firefighters returned early on Friday to a fire in a couple of hectares of logs and forestry south of Invercargill, Norris said. That fire was first reported about 7pm on Thursday, when fires were "leaping like frogs" in the debris. </p> <p>The fire was near powerlines leading to the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, south of Invercargill, so crews had to ensure the fire avoided cutting power.</p> <p>"Neither of those [Rakaia and Invercargill] fires are being treated as suspicious. They're thought to have started from previous burn-offs," Norris said.</p> <p>Roads are closed and power is out across parts of Queenstown and Wanaka after the strong winds.</p> <p>Many roads are affected by debris while the Glenorchy Road and Mt Aspiring Roads are both closed and no detours are available.</p> <p>Queenstown Lakes District Council communications manager Michele Poole said multiple trees had fallen across Glenorchy Rd, several with power lines entangled, making it hazardous for roading crews to clear.</p> <p>The winds were strong enough to lift a shed in Hewson Cr, Lake Hawea, and blow it down the road, Norris said. </p> <p>Near Wanaka Mt Aspiring Rd is closed at Glendhu Bay by multiple fallen trees.</p> <p>Speargrass Flat Rd is closed between the Arrowtown-Lake Hayes Road and Lower Shotover Road.</p> <p>The council has asked for drivers throughout the district to take extreme care as all roads are likely to be affected by windblown debris.</p> <p><strong>Winds ease for some, strengthen for others </strong></p> <p>MetService was expecting northwest gales, possibly gusting as high as 160kmh to ease in Fiordland, Southland and Otago around dawn.</p> <p>In parts of Canterbury severe gales of possibly between 130km and 160km were not expected to ease until late Friday morning, while in Wellington and southern Wairarapa they were expected to blow through the day.</p> <p>Wellington and southern Wairarapa are expected to be in the firing line of the severe northwest gales from early Friday through to late evening, with gusts of up top 130kmh in exposed places.</p> <p>"Winds of this strength can topple trees, powerlines and irrigation systems, and can make driving extremely hazardous, especially for motorcycles and high-sided vehicles," MetService warned.</p> <p>In Marlborough, winds could gust to 130kmh, and possibly 150kmh near the ranges, until Friday evening.</p> <p>First appeared on <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a></strong></span>.</p> <p><a href="/travel/international-travel/2015/11/gondola-provides-direct-access-to-ski-fields/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Gondola to link Queenstown to ski fields NZ</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/international-travel/2015/11/sydney-welcomes-po-fleet-into-harbour/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Sydney welcomes 5 P&amp;O ships with fireworks</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2015/11/senator-thinks-nz-should-become-australian-states/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Senator suggests NZ should become Aussie state</strong></em></span></a></p>

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Wild winds sweeping across the country

<p>Gales battering the capital are causing flights to be delayed, as wild weather hits much of the country.</p> <p>High winds overnight brought down trees and powerlines, and stirred up fires in the South Island.</p> <p>Gusts up to 130kmh were this morning slamming the capital, with Air New Zealand confirming numerous delays for travellers in and out of Wellington Airport.</p> <p><img width="500" height="375" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/11368/wild-weather-nz-two_500x375.jpg" alt="Wild Weather NZ Two" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>MetService data showed that Mt Kaukau above Wellington gusted to 133kmh on Friday morning, while Kelburn reached 130kmh, the Rimutaka Hill summit reached 120kmh, and Wellington Airport reached 91kmh.</p> <p>The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) issued a wind warning out for the State Highway 2 Rimutaka Hill Road and said motorcycles and high-sided vehicles should take extra care on the winding route between Wairarapa and Hutt Valley.</p> <p>Meanwhile power was out and roads were closed in parts of the South Island after overnight gales.</p> <p>"We had quite a number of trees being blown over and powerlines being ripped down, some just by the wind and others by trees falling on them," Fire Service southern communications shift manager Andrew Norris said.</p> <p>In Canterbury power was cut to 1000 homes in Banks Peninsula, but most had been restored except for 100 homes in Akaroa. Twenty-eight homes in Lake Coleridge are without electricity. Orion was investigating the faults, but expected the outages were wind-related.</p> <p>In Central Otago and Dunedin, power is out to homes in Port Chalmers, Wanaka, Dalefield, Lake Hayes, Lake Hayes Estate, The Neck and Makarora, Cardrona, Closeburn and Glenorchy, Springvale and parts of Alexandra.</p> <p><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/11369/wild-weather-nz-three_497x280.jpg" alt="Wild Weather NZ Three" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>MetService meteorologist Carl Loots said "extreme northwest winds" reached 100kmh in Dunedin and Invercargill, and 140kmh in Banks Peninsula. The biggest gust of 200kmh was recorded on Mt Hutt overnight.</p> <p>In Christchurch, powerful northwest winds are expected to rise to 110kmh, with a high of 24 degrees. As a front moves over the city about midday, the winds will ease and rain will set in.</p> <p>Overnight, firefighters were called out to fires near Rakaia and Invercargill, and about 2am crews were sent to help evacuate houses in Marlborough where a forest fire is burning.</p> <p>Around 3am the alarm was raised over a fire in a 300-metre long line of blue gum trees south of Rakaia. Five fire trucks were sent to the scene and had the blaze under control.</p> <p>Firefighters returned early on Friday to a fire in a couple of hectares of logs and forestry south of Invercargill, Norris said. That fire was first reported about 7pm on Thursday, when fires were "leaping like frogs" in the debris. </p> <p>The fire was near powerlines leading to the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, south of Invercargill, so crews had to ensure the fire avoided cutting power.</p> <p>"Neither of those [Rakaia and Invercargill] fires are being treated as suspicious. They're thought to have started from previous burn-offs," Norris said.</p> <p>Roads are closed and power is out across parts of Queenstown and Wanaka after the strong winds.</p> <p>Many roads are affected by debris while the Glenorchy Road and Mt Aspiring Roads are both closed and no detours are available.</p> <p>Queenstown Lakes District Council communications manager Michele Poole said multiple trees had fallen across Glenorchy Rd, several with power lines entangled, making it hazardous for roading crews to clear.</p> <p>The winds were strong enough to lift a shed in Hewson Cr, Lake Hawea, and blow it down the road, Norris said. </p> <p>Near Wanaka Mt Aspiring Rd is closed at Glendhu Bay by multiple fallen trees.</p> <p>Speargrass Flat Rd is closed between the Arrowtown-Lake Hayes Road and Lower Shotover Road.</p> <p>The council has asked for drivers throughout the district to take extreme care as all roads are likely to be affected by windblown debris.</p> <p><strong>Winds ease for some, strengthen for others </strong></p> <p>MetService was expecting northwest gales, possibly gusting as high as 160kmh to ease in Fiordland, Southland and Otago around dawn.</p> <p>In parts of Canterbury severe gales of possibly between 130km and 160km were not expected to ease until late Friday morning, while in Wellington and southern Wairarapa they were expected to blow through the day.</p> <p>Wellington and southern Wairarapa are expected to be in the firing line of the severe northwest gales from early Friday through to late evening, with gusts of up top 130kmh in exposed places.</p> <p>"Winds of this strength can topple trees, powerlines and irrigation systems, and can make driving extremely hazardous, especially for motorcycles and high-sided vehicles," MetService warned.</p> <p>In Marlborough, winds could gust to 130kmh, and possibly 150kmh near the ranges, until Friday evening.</p> <p>First appeared on <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a></strong></span>.</p>

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Make-up tricks that wind the clock back 10 years

<p>Simple and smart, these clever tricks will have you looking rested and vibrant in a jiffy.</p><p><strong>Conceal crow’s feet</strong></p><p>Wave goodbye to heavy cover-ups, which makes lines more obvious, and instead, embrace brightening the area. Use a concealer under the outer third of your lower lashes and a creamy highlighter.</p><p><strong>Lift your brows</strong></p><p>High, full brows not only define all of your features but they do wonder in making you look more youthful. Have thin eyebrows that are on the lighter side? Fear not. Use a brow powder or pencil a shade lighter than your hair color to fill in sparse areas, then sweep a fine line right above the top of the arch. </p><p><strong>Reduce lines around mouth</strong></p><p>To diminish the lines that run from your nose to your mouth, apply concealer one shade lighter than your skin over the shadow below the fold only, not over the entire crease. This pro trick reduces the appearance of a defined edge.</p><p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/lifestyle/beauty-style/2014/08/how-to-feel-confident-now!/" target="_blank">Related link: How to feel confident now</a></strong></span></em></p><p><strong>Perk up your pout</strong></p><p>Sadly the sides of the mouth tend to droop with age so to diminish this, brush highlighter on the corners and concealer just below the outer edges of your lower lip to minimize shadows.</p><p><strong>Related links:</strong></p><p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="/lifestyle/beauty-style/2014/09/eyebrows-are-the-key-to-looking-younger/" target="_blank">The key to looking younger</a></span></em></strong></p><p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/lifestyle/beauty-style/2015/01/look-fresh-after-no-sleep/" target="_blank">How to wake up looking fresh (even when you’re not!)</a></strong></span></em></p><p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/lifestyle/beauty-style/2015/01/beauty-fixes/" target="_blank">6 fixes for the most annoying beauty issues</a></strong></span></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>

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