Verses about promising

DUBAI: Eric Roman struts onstage in his torn jeans and grasps the microphone. It’s midnight on a Friday and in normal times, he’d hear wild applause from this tightly packed hotel bar in one of the old neighborhoods alongside the Dubai Creek. Sweaty throngs of fellow Filipinos, Arab businessmen and mall employees fresh from their shifts would hit the dance floor as he belted out Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ with his nine-piece Filipino band. But now the crowds, along with his bandmates, have vanished - in compliance with coronavirus restrictions that ban dancing and cap the number of musicians onstage. Roman took a 65 per cent pay cut when his club reopened after the lockdown. Guitarists, bassists and drummers weren’t so lucky. “Dubai is dead,” said Roman, 40. “Every day we’re wondering where we’re going to get our next meal, our next glass of water, how we’re going to survive in this city.” Show bands from the Philippines have long animated Dubai’s nightlife, satisfying an … [Read more...] about As COVID-19 mutes Dubai nightlife, Filipino bands feel the pain

SYDNEY: As with so many events in America this year, public expectations around the 2020 political conventions were muted. And yet, both parties approached their conventions with outsized ambition. Last week’s all-virtual Democratic convention was generally well received. The event showcased a diverse but unified party, and the crisp, passionate speech delivered by former Vice-President Joe Biden provided party members with a reason to exhale. In other historical periods, this would have been enough, but Democrats are worried, and many observers believe they will need a landslide to defeat President Donald Trump. READ: Commentary: Donald Trump aims to win the US election, one way or another READ: Commentary: WeChat ban a formidable weapon in US-China trade war THE REPUBLICANS IN ATTACK MODE Republicans held on to the hope for an in-person convention longer than the Democrats did, and as a result, they were left with less time to plan and produce the event, which … [Read more...] about Commentary: A softer Donald Trump could win the US election

HBO Max is the premium network's streaming service featuring all the channel's regular programming plus an amped-up library of extra shows, movies and originals. In an unprecedented move, HBO Max will stream all Warner Bros.' new, theatrically released movies at no extra charge the same day each film hits US cinemas this year -- they'll stay on HBO Max for one month only. The latest first-run film on Max is Tom and Jerry, an update of the classic cartoon that mixes live-action filming with computer-generated animation; it began streaming Friday. Next up will be Godzilla vs. Kong on March 31. (See the next section for a list of all the titles and their expected release dates and times.) But HBO Max has killed its weeklong free trial . That means if you want to stream originals, like the four-hour-long (!) Snyder Cut of Justice League coming March 18, or any of the Warner Bros. movies on its 2021 slate, including Matrix 4 and Dune later this year, you need to … [Read more...] about HBO Max: How to watch Tom and Jerry, Snyder Cut and everything else to know