HIKING TRAILS GIVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON HONG KONG MINUTES FROM URBAN CHAOS, PLACID PARKLANDS OFFER A GETAWAY
WHEN I went to Hong Kong five years ago — my first visit since I left at 6 months old — the dense chaotic landscape exhilarated me. This year, it seemed Hong Kong’s return to China and the Asian economic crisis had sped up an already maddening pace. The jackhammer…
A KINDER, MORE CHASTE ROMANCE; THE HOLLYWOOD PENDULUM SWINGS BACK TO LOVE AND LAUGHTER, BUT WITH A FEW DIFFERENCES
When Minnie Driver inadvertently slaps David Duchovny, it’s endearing. Not that Duchovny is making any untoward advances in the Bonnie Hunt comedy “Return to Me,” which opens today. In the film, he’s a grieving widower and Driver is the woman who, unbeknownst to both of them, is the recipient of…
“RETURN” PUTS SOME HEART INTO GENRE; DUCHOVNY AND DRIVER PAIR WELL IN A TALE OF SECOND CHANCES AT LIFE AND PASSION
In postmodern Hollywood where irony without wit is the defining sentiment, romantic comedies ends up awash in mawkish sentimentality or overwhelmed by calculated superstar pairings. So when a lighthearted romance comes along like Bonnie Hunt’s directorial debut, “Return to Me,” the delight is rediscovering the subtleties of love without crushing…
PEOPLE
Who wants to divorce a millionaire? Darva! Darva Conger walked out of a Las Vegas courtroom a single woman again Wednesday after a judge officially annulled her made-for-TV marriage to millionaire real estate tycoon-funny guy Rick Rockwell. Family Court Judge Steven E. Jones granted Conger’s annulment request after she testified…
PEOPLE
Dangerfield out of danger after bypass operation Rodney Dangerfield’s hospitalization last week was to undergo double bypass surgery, his business manager Charles Sussman said Wednesday. The comedian is making a good recovery, Sussman said, and he might be released from the hospital as soon as Sunday. Dangerfield, 78, was hospitalized…
NEW, SWEET TREATS SELL LIKE HOTCAKES; KRISPY KREME BRINGS ITS SOUTHERN-FRIED DOUGHNUT DELICACIES TO THE EAST BAY WITH A STORE IN UNION CITY
Who knew a Southern-bred delicacy could cause such fuss at a West Coast shopping center? And yet, a laid-back, well-mannered pack of sugar hounds waited under a hot Union City sun to get a taste of A lowly doughnut. About 65 customers were in line, taking in the savory smell…
THOSE FLIGHTY FEELINGS ARE THE REAL DEAL
Spring fever may not be a clinical diagnosis, but it is a physical and psychological phenomenon, say local mind and body experts. Even Californians, who don’t have to endure subzero temperatures or dig themselves out of blizzards, suffer symptoms such as allergy flare-ups, giddiness and a tendency to grin goofily…
SPRING SHOWERS BRING GREAT WATERFALLS; MOUNT DIABLO HIKE TAKES YOU TO THREE (COUNT ‘EM, THREE) PICTURESQUE CASCADES
It hasn’t rained enough this year. Oh, I can hear the yelps now. Friends have threatened to renounce their acquaintance with me when I suggest taking a leisurely walk during a mild downpour. Then they go on snarling about traffic jams, the mudslides that sweep away roads and houses, and…
SPRING BORED?; HERE’S SOME ADVICE ON HOW TO FUNNEL THE HIGH ENERGY OF THE SUNNY SEASON
YOUR FINGERS are tapping. You haven’t noticed it before, this jittery hand that no longer seems a part of your body. Then again, concentrating on anything seems to be hard of late. When someone speaks to you, all you see are lips moving, but you nod knowingly anyway and mumble,…