Historic Hudson's Bay building in downtown Calgary to be acquired by redeveloper

https://calgaryherald.com/news/downtown-calgary-hudsons-bay-building-astra-real-estate?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-ca

Calgary’s iconic and mostly vacant downtown Hudson’s Bay Building is on the verge of being acquired by a Calgary real estate firm known for property redevelopment.

Court filings indicate Astra Real Estate Corp. entered into a purchase agreement for the 114-year-old building on Feb. 18, with an outside completion date for the deal listed as May 30.

It joins agreements in place to purchase Hudson’s Bay buildings in Vancouver, Ottawa and Windsor that involve different buyers.

A spokesperson for Astra wouldn’t comment on the move “until we take possession.”

The company has been involved in a number of office-to-residential conversions of downtown Calgary, which have included a focus on affordable housing.

The impending Calgary deal could be a major step in preserving cherished elements of the structure in the heart of downtown, after its operations ceased last June with the financial collapse of the historic Hudson’s Bay retail empire.

The six-storey, Chicago commercial-style building with its terra cotta cladding was a model for the Bay’s western Canadian expansion, with architecturally notable stores following in Vancouver, Victoria and Winnipeg.

Since the store’s closure, concerns have arisen over its future, preservation and the deterioration of the aging building’s condition.

It lacks municipal or provincial historical designation, which would prevent demolition or significant alteration, and refurbishing its electrical, mechanical and structural integrity would cost many millions of dollars.

The National Trust for Canada included the building in its endangered places list last fall.

The Hudson’s Bay Co. had entered into a joint venture with RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust. After the Bay filed for creditor protection a year ago, RioCan indicated it wouldn’t invest any more into the site.

The news of the purchase was welcomed by downtown business and historical preservation groups.

“Astra Real Estate Corp. . . . have a demonstrated history of working with heritage properties and a strong track record of preservation and stewardship,” said Erika Topola, executive director of Heritage Calgary.

“Historic buildings are important anchors of Calgary’s identity, and it is exciting to see this landmark move into the hands of owners who understand the value of protecting architectural character while thoughtfully planning for its future. We look forward to seeing how this iconic building can continue to contribute to the vibrancy and story of our downtown for generations to come.”

The Calgary Downtown Association was similarly upbeat, saying it looks forward to discussions with Astra on how best to preserve the historically important and economically viable aspects of the “downtown landmark.”

“The building holds generations of memories for Calgarians, and its future will play an important role in the continued vibrancy and momentum of Stephen Avenue and downtown Calgary,” association spokesperson Bre Tighe said in an email.

In recent years, the building has become host to an events centre on its sixth floor and a restaurant on the bottom level.

Commercial real estate experts have said the downtown structure has considerable potential to be further subdivided for commercial and residential use, while ideally preserving its iconic facade.

The building has a rich history of expansion and redevelopment, undergoing changes in the 1930s and 1950s, and successive modernizations.

In its heyday, the downtown Bay boasted 40 departments, including a post office, telegraph station, men’s smoking lounge, nursery, library and medical clinic.

Living with Liver Disease: Why Am I So Tired All the Time?

https://www.liversupport.com/living-liver-disease-tired/

Although there are many possible causes of liver disease, the most commonly reported symptom ties most liver disease experiences together: fatigue.

We have all experienced fatigue, but the severe, constant fatigue that is endemic to chronic liver disease can be debilitating. If you have a chronic liver ailment and are struggling with tiredness, it is not all in your head. There are a handful of physiological reasons explaining why chronic liver disease and fatigue go hand in hand.

Although liver disease by itself saps energy levels, there is a long list of complicating issues that may exacerbate or contribute to fatigue.

7 Factors Known to Increase Fatigue

- Stress
- Poor nutrition
- Depression
- Inactivity
- Chronic pain
- Medications
- Illness

Even so, those with chronic liver disease are at a particular disadvantage when it comes to having sufficient energy levels. Despite the many different causes (a hepatitis virus, excessive fat accumulation, alcoholism, bile duct problems, etc.), liver disease stresses your liver, making this valuable organ vulnerable to cellular damage and scarring. Injury to its cells reduces your liver’s ability to accomplish the many jobs it is responsible for.

The following four points make it easy to see why there’s a connection between fatigue and liver disease:

Glycogen Storage – Your liver helps supply your body with energy by converting glucose into glycogen and storing it for later use. If your liver is compromised, it is less able to convert glucose to glycogen, less able to store the glycogen, and less able to release the glycogen when energy is needed.

Brain-Immune Dysfunction – The continued, long-term response of the immune system to liver injury contributes to fatigue. The release of neurotransmitters (chemicals in the brain) is part of a healthy immune system response. When your body is stressed, your immune system is activated, causing your brain to release chemicals for self-protection. Liver disease inflicts chronic, uncontrollable stress, weakening your immune system and decreasing the release of certain brain neurotransmitters. The reduction in neurotransmitters is a suspected factor in severe fatigue.

Anemia – A condition describing a deficiency in red blood cells that transport oxygen throughout the body, anemia causes severe fatigue. According to a Spanish research report published in the October 2009 issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology, anemia occurs in about 75 percent of patients with chronic liver disease. Experts believe that hemorrhage of blood into the gastrointestinal tract is a major cause of anemia in individuals with chronic liver disease.

Metabolism – Your liver helps create energy via metabolism, the process of converting your food into energy. An impaired liver has fewer functioning liver cells available to metabolize the protein, fat and carbohydrates you consume.

The fatigue you might be feeling with chronic liver disease is not a figment of your imagination. There are several physiological reasons why impaired liver function reduces energy levels. Providing your body with antioxidants, vitamins, herbs and nutrients that strengthen the liver, the cell’s mitochondria and the immune system while also nurturing metabolism, can help restore your energy levels when it is needed most.

New Report Shows Trump Admin. Responsible for 10,000s of Venezuelan Deaths

Moscow - Leninsky Avenue (1983)

https://rutube.ru/video/3bd451a8c16d42faf7b0bfa091e7ccd7/

Leninsky Avenue (Russian: Ле́нинский проспе́кт) is a major avenue in Moscow, Russia, that runs in the south-western direction between Kaluzhskaya Square in the central part of the city through Gagarin Square to the Moscow Ring Road. It is a part of the M3 highway which continues from Moscow to Kaluga and Bryansk to the border with Ukraine, and provides connections with Kiev and Odessa. It is also a part of the European route E101 connecting Moscow and Kiev. It is the second widest street in Moscow after Leningradsky Avenue. Its width varies between 108 and 120 metres.

Zendaya's First Movie of 2026 Officially Enters an Elite Box Office List for A24

https://collider.com/zendaya-robert-pattinson-the-drama-fifth-a24-movie-100-million-box-office/

After a decade spent in the indie trenches, A24 is making a name for itself by empowering the kind of star-driven studio movies that Hollywood stopped making during that period. A24 noticed a gap in the market and filled it with movies helmed by critically acclaimed filmmakers and led by actors looking to diversify from the usual fare. It relied on an increasingly recognizable brand identity and captivating marketing strategies. Not every project has worked, but in the last few years, A24's films have consistently leveled up at the box office. The studio recently delivered its fifth feature film to hit the coveted $100 million mark in worldwide box-office revenue, as it prepares to enter production on perhaps its most ambitious project yet, the fantasy video game adaptation Elden Ring.

A24's latest hit is The Drama, the cringe-inducing dark comedy starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. Directed by Kristoffer Borgli, who previously worked with the company on the surreal comedy film Dream Scenario, The Drama also features Alana Haim, Hailey Benton Gates, and Mamoudou Athie in supporting roles. The movie follows a couple whose lives are upended by a scandalous personal revelation in the week leading up to their wedding. The Drama opened to mostly positive reviews and has stirred debates about issues such as gun violence, privilege, and race in America. It currently holds a 77% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "Flirting with complex themes, The Drama walks a tonal tightrope with impressive poise thanks to career-highlight performances by Robert Pattinson and Zendaya."

Having hit the $100 million mark worldwide against a reported budget of $28 million, The Drama only trails Materialists ($108 million), Civil War ($127 million), Everything Everywhere All at Once ($142 million), and Marty Supreme ($180 million) on A24's all-time leaderboard. The Drama has overtaken Materialists' $36 million domestic haul and is on track to hit the $50 million mark by the end of its run. It has also passed the $95 million lifetime global haul of Zendaya's Challengers, which was distributed by Amazon MGM Studios a couple of years ago. This is a major year for the star, who also appears in the third season of HBO's A24-produced drama series Euphoria. She will join Pattinson in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Denis Villeneuve's Dune: Part Three, and will also reprise her role as MJ in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Colin Farrell - Saturday Night Live

Colin Farrell comments on Alexander The Great. Aired 12/11/04

'Mother Mary' review: Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel are rapturous | Mashable

https://mashable.com/article/mother-mary-review

From the writer/director of "The Green Knight" comes a surreal horror story.

Filmmakers often express frustrations about the genre labels put on their work by studio marketing, the media, and even their fans. Perhaps this is why David Lowery's tagline for his latest film, Mother Mary, focuses on what it's not. "This is not a ghost story. This is not a love story." Maybe he doesn't want his rapturous work described in such simple terms.

But here's the thing. It is a ghost story. It is a love story. It's also more.

Written and directed by Lowery (The Green Knight, A Ghost Story), Mother Mary plunges its audience into the unreal world of the eponymous pop icon, played by Anne Hathaway. Wearing a ferociously cinched body suit with gothic flair and religious iconography like her signature halos, Mother Mary is giving Lady Gaga. But it's not just the iconography. A stunning long take meant to show how Mother Mary must parade from one show to the next to the next without respite recalls the Gaga meme of "No sleep, bus, club, another club, 'nother club, plane, next place, no sleep."

However, Mother Mary's songs are written by Charli xcx, Jack Antonoff, and FKA twigs, who also has a small but pivotal role in the film. The music they bring is otherworldly, evoking not just Mother Mary's power over her audience, but also the paranormal darkness that plagues her wherever she goes.

Could it be that reconnecting with her former best friend/costume designer, Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel), will bring an end to her agony? Can collaboration on a dress heal years of estrangement and resentment?

The premise might sound like the stuff of tearjerker melodrama. But in Lowery's hands, Mother Mary is a gothic horror story — surreal, evocative, and breathtakingly gorgeous. 

Across a smattering of arena tour performances, Hathaway must swiftly convince us that Mother Mary is an incomparably popular, intensely compelling talent. In her long, long wigs and cinched and bedazzled costumes, she projects an enchanting confidence and cool. She is instantly mesmerizing, strutting, dancing, and singing with the stage presence many performers would maim for.

It's fascinating to see this film hit so close to Hathaway's reprisal of the gawky fashion-averse heroine Andy Sachs with The Devil Wears Prada 2. Back-to-back, Hathaway reminds us how she can easily play an average girl and a literal icon with aplomb. In Mother Mary, however, she must pull off a double act. Not only is she embodying this perfectly fierce and feminine facade, but also a beleaguered woman on the brink of collapse, creatively and psychologically.

When she comes into Sam's rural sanctuary, a chicly decaying estate where models, designers, and hangers-on flutter about with ballerina-like precision to execute Sam's vision, Mother Mary is disheveled, sheepish, and fragile. In sweatpants and a hoodie, she practically cowers as she humbly requests her former confidante to create a new gown for her, custom, and with only three days turnaround time for her public relaunch. It's outrageous. It's impossible. And yet, Sam cannot resist. 

While Mother Mary will flow into flashbacks to show us its titular figure's career highs and personal lows, much of the film takes place in a humble barn, which Sam uses as a design studio. There, Sam will poetically muse about creation, friendship, hatred, ghosts, and letting go. Hathaway's role demands that she transform physically and thrust herself into a complicated contemporary dance number — without music — that feels like a brutal exercise in penance through humiliation. By contrast, Coel's portrayal is more grounded in her face and voice.

Where Mary must move to enchant us, Sam can stand still, resolute and just talk. Coel makes it seem so easily, so effortless to be this beguiling. Through her, pages and pages of Lowery's melodic monologue flow like a river, glittering, deep, and rapid. The actress, who broke through mugging and slapsticking it up in Chewing Gum, is intense yet restrained here. Her screen presence is unparalleled.

Cinematographers Andrew Droz Palermo and Rina Yang meticulously light this dark barn with care to be sure that Coel's eyes and cheekbones shine. She is truly radiant, even when withering. 

Wrapped in cool blues and probing reds, these two hurt women engage in a metaphorical dance that is collaboration and confrontation. Lowery's direction trusts in these actresses to find a rhythm without theatrics. Hushed tones lure us in, as if we are a fly on the wall or a ghost in the hallway. Theirs is a story of love, but one that fully recognizes the role hate and even indifference play in such a story. 

Theirs is a ghost story, but not in the traditional sense. Sure, there was a haunting and a seance — conducted by a possessed FKA twigs. But nothing else about this supernatural tale will play to the lore you might predict. 

Instead, Lowery embraces darkness and bold color, flowing fabric, and structured gowns to create a visual world that illustrates his heroines' fears and hopes, emotions so raw and reckless they can't be said out loud. 

Hathaway and Coel are electrifying together. A small female supporting cast, boasting Hunter Schafer and Sian Clifford along with FKA twigs, provides a swift and solid structure, suggesting a world beyond the barn without much fuss or distraction. The cinematography celebrates pop idols and couture fashion with the same adoration it offers Lowery's silky black abyss. The music throbs like a mind racing or a mouth catching a ragged breath.

All of this comes together into a vision grotesque and gorgeous. Mother Mary is not only slippery, riveting, unnerving, and haunting, but also one of the most enthralling films 2026 is likely to reveal.