stop the clumping up

A home cook has shared her simple tip to stop herbs and spices from ‘clumping up’ at the bottom of the jar, and all you need is a grain of dry rice. The Australian woman posted on Facebook, where she said she was sick of her ‘powder herbs and spices clumping up into a solid’ so she can’t get any out when she’s cooking. ‘An old wives’ tal

Sri Lanka’s batik industry A glimpse from the past

There was a time when Sri Lanka’s batik masterpieces were a global hit. From wrap around skirts to blouses and many other outfits, the industry certainly flourished. But the introduction of the open market economy took a heavy toll on local industries including batiks. Several decades later, the Gotabhaya Rajapaksa regime has now allocated a separate ministry to revive the dying industry and many local artisans feel that the time has come to set

Professor Prashanthi Narangoda

Professor Prashanthi Narangoda assumed duties as Directress of the SAARC Cultural Center amidst the tumultuous period of the COVID pandemic pervaded by uncertainty. Narangoda began her career as a Temporary Assistant Lecturer, in the Department of Fine Arts in 1992 and in 1997, became a permanent member in the same Department. “Throughout the period that I have been serving,” she added, elaborating on her time at the University, “I have committed

My heart and soul is cinema: Jeevan

Seasoned Jeevan Chandimal whose passion is movie-making has been behind the success stories of hundreds of television commercials, documentaries and thousands of songs. In a career spanning some 20 years, photography has b

Are there villains trying to sabotage local Tamil film industry?

In this globalised society how can we sideline or marginalise movie screenings and block it from filmgoers purely on language bias? Isn’t diversity of cultural expressions vital for a healthy society to move forward? Many film ana

16th Raigam Tele’es on Sept. 19 Sms voting for popular categories starts today

The 16th episode of Raigam Tele’es - the tele-awards ceremony of the nation, which is also the biggest annual event of the small screen sphere in Sri Lanka - that was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will unspool on September 19,

Boosting up

The pandemic has demoralised many of us, especially those of us who are employees and employers, with the lack of money, salaries being reduced and some of the really unfortunate who have been made redundant. It is difficult to

‘Girls weren’t allowed that!’

Game Of Thrones star Emilia Clarke hits out at the show’s costumes. She’s famed for portraying ‘Mother of Dragons’ Da

Brad Pitt, 56, fuels romance speculation with Angelina Jolie lookalike

Brad Pitt was seen arriving at France’s Le Castellet Airport with multi-lingual German model and Angelina Jolie lookalike Nic

Quarantine Home Bakers

In this series, we talk to people who turned their passion for food and baking into a business idea amidst lockdown and COVID-19 fears. Some have been in the market for years and others saw the new opportunity and took it! These home businesses are changing the game and have overcome the odds of running a business during quarantine. Here’s how they did it;

Creative Isle to present the CAN Weekend Market

Creative Isle, in collaboration with Colombo City Centre, announced the launch of the Ceylon Artisan Network (CAN) Market, the first 3-day weekend market, to be held at the Colombo City Centre - Atrium. The CAN Market was created as a platform to support micro-entrepreneurship from across the island, where it is scheduled to commence from August 28, 2020, onwards and will take

Feed Me festival

Noticing the amount of new entrepreneurs who have launched their own culinary enterprises during lockdown fellow entrepreneurs Rayhana Jiffry and Shifani Mahroof have decided to launch the first ever Feed Me Festival at the Prana Lounge on 30th August from 10am to 4pm. The Fe

Swapping her scrubs for a crown

Passionate about beauty pageants, paediatric nurse Rebecca Sinnarajah 22, was born and brought up in the UK to parents Vasanthan and Reno who hail from Sri Lanka. Rebecca is also a dancer who has won many awards. Rebecca was inspired to apply for the competition by last year’s winner, 24 year old junior doctor Bhasa Mukerjee, who also became the first South Asian to win the title. In a departure from tradition and under the new normal the initia

Brand new cine treat with brand new movies

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed huge challenges to every sector including the film industry. Even globally film releases have been put off and filmmaking is just starting to rebound after months of uncertainty and fears. It is in this backdrop that SCOPE CINEMAS is taking a commendable initiative to courageously face this challenge by organising a five-day cinema festival featuring brand new Sinhala movies that are yet to be released in theatres.

Parakrama Jayasinghe bids farewell

Veteran movie enthusiast and filmmaker Parakrama Jayasinghe passed away recently and his funeral took place at the Bor

Chariots of Fire star Ben Cross dies aged 72

British actor Ben Cross, best known for his starring role in the 1981 Oscar-winning sports drama “Chariots of Fire,” died Tuesday aged 72. Cross, who portrayed Jewish sprinter Harold Abrahams’s battle to overcome anti-Semitism and triumph at the 1924 Olympics, was also known to younger fans as Spock’s father in the 2009 reboot of “Star Trek.” “Ben passed aw

Game of Thrones actor ‘disappointed’ by finale

Game Of Thrones’ final season got mixed reviews from critics and was widely lambasted by viewers and fans. Charles Dance joined the ranks of those disappointed fans when he said he would sign a petition calling for the entire final season of the HBO hit to be remade. The 73-year-old English actor weighed in on his former series in an interview with PopCulture.com published Monday.

 A wickedly indulgent approach to losing weight

When I was 30, I moved to Paris to live and write for a year. It may be a complete myth that French women don’t get fat (obesity rates are rising across the Channel, just as they are in the UK), but it’s certainly true that some French women seem to enjoy fine food, yet maintain their slim figures. You know the kind of women I mean — those elegant creatures who epitomise Parisian chic. I used t

DISH IT OUT HARPO GUNARATNE

Founder and CEO of Harpo’s Cafés and Restaurants which include restaurants Harpo’s Pizza, The Bayleaf, The Commons Coffee House, Park Street Mews, Curve, and Colombo Fort Café as well as th

Lakshman Joseph De Saram

Four time recipient of the Signis International Award for outstanding original score for a feature film, as well as the 2016 Presidential award for best film music, Lakshman is a professional classical musician and film composer Schooled in Colombo and New York City, a passionate advocate for chamber music, a veteran of over 800 concerts, he is however best known internationally for his original scores for film. Bel Ami, a score he co wrote with

Ariana Grande overtakes Rihanna

Ariana Grande marked another milestone on Monday as she became the most-streamed female artiste on Spotify. The 27-year-old Thank U, Next singer overtook Rihanna, who had previously held the top spot on the popular music streaming service. Despite being honoured, Arianna wrote that she hoped Rihanna would soon regain her crown. ‘@ArianaGrande is now the most stre

Tom Hanks in early negotiations to play Geppetto in Disney’s live-action remake of Pinocchio

Tom Hanks is in early negotiations to play Geppetto in Disney and Robert Zemeckis’ remake of its animated classic Pinocchio, according to Deadline. After reading the script, the 64-year-old Toy Story star, reportedly reached out to Zemeckis ’to let him know he wants to do the film.’ The pair previously won Oscars together for their work on Forrest Gump in 1994, and have reunited twice for Cast Away (2000) and The Polar Express (2004.) While sou

Energy symbols

Feng Shui has been used to draw positive energy in order to gain wealth, happiness, stability and peace of mind. FENG SHUI WHICH MEANS Wind and Water is a key to unlock your desires and aspirations. The feel of a p

Life

Life is one thing we do not question, especially when growing up. Most people we know have grown up in comfortable homes and have had a fair education. It is later on in life, when growing older and facing problems and becoming aware of mortality that makes one begin to wonder what life is all about.

Mission Impossible 7 filming is hit by more delays

Filming at the £2m Mission Impossible 7 set is thought to have been hit by more delays after a motorbike caught fire.Two of the other cast members joined him in the skydive after filming on Mission Impossible 7 resumed following a Covid shutdown. Writer-director Christoph

Trini Lopez dies of coronavirus

The singer, guitarist and actor passed away in Palm Springs, California on Tuesday. He was 83 years old. He was most known for his role of Pedro Jiminez in the 1967 classic war film The Dirty Dozen. An accomplished guitarist and musician, Lopez also sang a popular cover version of the American standard If I Had A Hammer on his 1963 debut album. Throughout his decades-long music

Gordon Ramsay critises aspiring TikTok Chefs

Gordon Ramsay is known for giving savage criticism to aspiring chefs on his popular TV shows - not to mention dropping the ‘F’ word. And now the celebrity chef has taken to TikTok to offer advice to those hoping to pursue a career in the kitchen and, as usual, he isn’t holding back. In a series of amu

Lakmini Wijesundera Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of IronOne Technologies and BoardPAC

Lakmini Wijesundera is a Technology entrepreneur who focuses on making Sri Lankan innovative technology products gain global brand recognition. Her company BoardPAC provides Board Meeting Automation to leading companies across 30 countries. She started out in the computer science and electronic engineering discipline with her education at Imperial College, London. She has won many accolades such as being selected as a prestigious Ernst & Young Wi

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

The future of The Ellen DeGeneres Show in Australia is looking uncertain, after Channel Nine confirmed it had yet to acquire the broadcast rights for the next season. The American talk show, which has aired on Nine since 2013, is currently the subject of an internal investigation by Warner Media after multiple staffers alleged that bullying, racism and sexual harassment were rampant behind the scenes.In light of the ongoing controversy, a Nine sp

GOOD JOURNALISM ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Over the decades, we have seen pairings in several entertaining spheres like film, music or showbiz in general. Such iconic duos become heartthrobs among the masses and are livewires in their own right. Come to think of such two-some contributions, Vijaya-Malani and Gamini-Malani cross our minds instantly. And in our local television sphere, we had a dynamic duo in Thanuja Jayawardana and Narada Bakmeewewa who have maintained their popularity to