London museum shudders at fallout from planned heavy metal gig

London's famed Victoria and Albert Museum has canceled an experimental concert by extreme metal band Napalm Death, fearing the noise level could damage the 104-year-old building. Ceramic artist Keith Harrison from the V&A, the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, collaborated with Napalm Death on a set to be played through a sculptural sound system which would disintegrate under decibel stress.

Yoko Ono tweets against guns by showing Lennon's bloody glasses

Yoko Ono has taken up arms against gun violence with a raft of Twitter postings, including a photograph of blood-stained glasses apparently worn by John Lennon when he was shot and killed more than 30 years ago. "Over 1,057,000 people have been killed by guns in the US since John Lennon was shot and killed on Dec 8, 1980," Ono, the former Beatle's widow, tweeted.

Chinese bowl found at garage sale in New York fetches millions

A 1,000-year-old Chinese bowl that was bought for a few dollars at a garage sale in New York state sold for more than $2.2 million at auction on Tuesday. An unnamed New York family bought the "Ding" bowl, which is from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), for no more than $3 in 2007 and displayed it on a mantelpiece with no idea as to its real worth, Sotheby's said.

Highwire stuntman ready to tiptoe across the Grand Canyon

Aerialist Nik Wallenda plans to cross the Grand Canyon in June on a tightrope 1,500 feet (457 meters) in the air, without a safety harness - a feat that will be televised live. Wallenda said he would traverse a remote section of crimson-hued canyon owned by the Navajo Nation in what will be his first major stunt since he last year became the only person to walk a wire over the brink of Niagara Falls.

David Bowie exhibition in London breaks box-office records

Ziggy played guitar. But as a new exhibition devoted to singer David Bowie's long and innovative career makes clear, he also wrote lyrics, checked every detail of his outlandish costumes, appeared in movies and helped design his own stage sets. David Bowie Is, which runs from March 23 to Aug 11, has broken box office records at London's Victoria & Albert Museum, with 50,000 advance tickets sold.

Danny Boyle follows London Olympicssuccess story with Trance

After Danny Boyle's prominent role at last year's London Summer Olympics, the British filmmaker is back in the spotlight with his first film since 2010's 127 Hours. Trance, which had its world premiere in London on Tuesday, stars James McAvoy as Simon, a man who teams with a criminal (Vincent Cassel) to steal a painting. Simon suffers a blow to the head, which causes him to forget where he hid the painting.

Flaming snake may have gotten last laugh as attacker's house burns

Six teams of firefighters failed to save a house near the US city of Texarkana after a homeowner took desperate measures upon finding a snake in the house. The woman said she doused what was described as a large black snake with gasoline. Her son then apparently set the slithering reptile on fire. "She just didn't like snakes, I guess," Liberty-Eylau Fire Chief David Wesslehoft told CNN on Friday, in something of an understatement. The snake fled to a brush pile between two homes. The brush ignited, sending flames through tall, dry grass toward the residences, officials said.

T-shirt evokes late actor Heath Ledger as laidback skateboarder in LA

Five years after the death of renowned Australian actor Heath Ledger, friends and family have joined to pay tribute to the man known to the world as the evil Joker with a T-shirt, honoring him as a laidback skateboarder with a touch of the daredevil. Ledger died at the age of 28 from an accidental overdose in January 2008. He was subsequently awarded a posthumous Oscar for his role in the Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight. The T-shirt, which is being sold for charity, features a photograph of a faintly smiling Ledger posing with a skateboard by the Los Angeles River. "Heath loved skateboarding and wanted to do a shoot he enjoyed", said the photographer, Ben Watts. "At one stage we were towing him with a car going like 40 miles (64 km) per hour through the LA River, it was amazing", Watts said.

Reuters

(China Daily 03/24/2013 page4)