+ I'm no dictator, says Blue Wiggle—Blue Wiggle Anthony Field gets straight to the point: "You don't stay together for 21 years and have a dictator at the front."

+ Jackie Chan set to go out fighting—Jackie Chan says he is landing his last punch.

+ All power to an aging yet immortal Prince of funk—That would be right. It takes a 53-year-old man playing decades old songs to make you feel like a teenager again.

+ From sweet notes to sour ones, let's stay in tune with The Voice—Remember when we all tuned in to The Voice because it made us feel good? I do, but on Monday night something changed, and it wasn't just the live soun...

+ Interview: Danielle de Niese—"I don't speak too much about the unfair reviews, the times I spent weeping on my mum's lap," says Danielle de Niese.

+ A clash of symbols—Australians experimenting with a Belle Epoque trend couldn't keep a straight face.

+ A welcome interruption—The Transatlantic alternative-rock band Garbage still sound like Garbage, albeit more eclectic.

+ Childhood trauma still ebbs and flows—Hannah Richell is one of those success stories to which unpublished authors cling.

+ Dark arts—Australia's rising stars are exploring all things shadowy and dangerous through vivid prose and compelling characters.

+ Despair and other drugs—The Trainspotting prequel is a masterful look at social decline in Thatcher's Britain.

+ A rich glimpse inside a rare mind—Autism may not seem like a riveting topic for a feature film, but this biopic is compelling.

+ End of conflict only half the battle—A weighty volume chronicles the last years of Australia's military presence in Vietnam and assesses the war's true cost.

+ Midnight in Sin City—Sydney is the setting for a study into the morality of prostitution.

+ Over the legal limit—There are so many foreign sleuths on TV, our very lives could be in danger.

+ Onto a winner—The Warmest Place from Catcall is a glittering prize of empowered pop, disco jams and '80s elegance.

+ No simple answer—Spektor's sometimes disorienting ability to play with and against musical expectations remains active.

+ Somewhere far away, so close—An epic novel is imbued with the landscape of a country oddly neglected by Australian writers.

+ Sour power—A trip to Naples reinvigorates Steve Manferdi's love for lemons.

+ Interview: Susan Johnson—My Hundred Lovers is a mock memoir of one woman's life told through her sensual experiences.

+ The phantom menaces—Paul Byrnes is spooked as the traditional haunted house is rendered creepy once more.

+ The rise and rise of Ziggy—Confidence - not ego - was the driving force behind David Bowie's breakthrough album.

+ To DIY for—This beachside newcomer nails the rustic look and the mini cheeseburgers.

+ In fine form—The Killing's Sarah Lund is a terrific protagonist. She's flawed - as we all are - but she's also smart, focused and capable.

+ Workspace and time—A productive writer takes a witty romp through the evolution and idiosyncrasies of the office.

+ Culture of excellence—A review of the Australia Council's purpose is causing a stir, writes Joyce Morgan.

+ Four men in a boat: talking masculinity at world's end—Power, identity and climate change set sail in this Next Wave Festival production.

+ Playwright Cornelius takes gong at Sydney theatre awards—Melbourne playwright Patricia Cornelius and Sydney literary critic James Bradley have taken out two major writing awards.

+ Audiences marvel at a comic escape—The fantasy of The Avengers has brought boys back to the movies, writes Garry Maddox.

+ Critic rewarded for sharp eye on culture—JAMES BRADLEY has won this year's Pascall Prize for the Australian critic of the year. And this time organisers have made no mistake. A few weeks ago ...

+ Everyone seems to want a bite of the Big Apple—AUSTRALIANS are pouring into New York at a rate of almost 1500 a day and are the Big Apple's third-biggest overseas spenders, spurred on by the favour...

+ Pop fans farewell the queen of disco—SO DONNA SUMMER has died in Key West, Florida, from cancer and tonight hundreds of drag queens will don their Donna Summer wigs and hit the boards sin...

+ Fuzzy logic makes perfect sense—One of the world's oldest textiles is ripe for reinvention.

+ Lost in love—Director Wes Anderson tries to capture the powerful feelings of that first crush in his latest feature about two children who run away together.

+ Brolin's the new Black—Stepping into Agent K's shoes meant studying Tommy Lee Jones videos.

+ Friends in high places—It's been a dizzying rise for expat indie rockers The Temper Trap.

+ In search of fresh blood—Robert Pattinson's predatory lover in Bel Ami couldn't be further from his famed Twilight vampire.

+ Moshpit—One of Sydney's newest venues, The Standard, was a fitting place to host emerging Fremantle band San Cisco.

+ Resistance is fertile—Janelle Monae's willingness to fight for a cause is getting her noticed.

+ Schoolgirls play who dares sins—Playwright Lachlan Philpott's Truck Stop examines a new raunch cuture that may shock audiences.

+ Slice of Turkey—Once Upon a Time in Anatolia cuts deep into the complexity of humanity.

+ The genius behind the novel—Bel Ami is based on a novel that was phenomenally popular in its day; published in 1885, it had 37 printings in four months.

+ The man behind the make-up—Rick Baker has won a staggering seven Oscars for his make-up work on films.

+ Vivid highlights explained—The creative director of Vivid Live, Fergus Linehan, talks us through some of the festival's highlights.

+ Three original Wiggles to hang up their skivvies—AND then there was one. After entertaining children for 21 years the Wiggles will undergo a massive makeover with three of the original band members -...

+ Community battle looms for ageing Astor—“Community” is a word used a lot by St Michael's Grammar School, which tells parents it aims to help equip their children “with t...

+ Aus Ballet is back in black—Record numbers of people are subscribing to the Australian Ballet since the mid-nineties.

+ Comic huff runs out of puff—Sacha Baron Cohen off his game can outperform most comics in peak condition, which makes The Dictator worth seeing as an interesting failure.

+ Buried treasures to be unearthed after orchestra passes the baton—WORKS by neglected Australian composers will share the stage with contemporary music and high-profile international musicians when the Sydney Symphony...

+ Now it's live! Who 'killed it' on The Voice?—It's the first of the live shows but blow me if it doesn't look exactly the same as last week, when presumably they were all dead.

+ The Voice first live show: recap—It's the first of the live shows but blow me if it doesn't look exactly the same as last week, when presumably they were all dead.

+ Aural delight from start to finish—AUSTRALIAN

+ Roller-coaster ride of indulgence and genius—PRINCE

+ Coldplay set to pack out Suncorp Stadium—Coldplay will be giving Brisbane fans a rush of blood to the head after announcing will become the sixth act in six years to play Suncorp Stadium.

+ Voice theirs, now the vote is yours—Move over, Delta, Seal, Joel and Keith; it's the public's turn to have a ''voice''.

+ Mixed company—Pairing unlikely ingredients can produce winning taste sensations.

+ A pirate's life for them, too—The children of literary icons inherit a taste for adventure.

+ An old secret shatters a family—This moody, melancholy Finnish novel about dying and heartbreak is full of stating-the-obvious (but still confronting) declarations.

+ Another time, another place—A Hardy classic is tested to the limit with a change of setting, class and era.

+ Cromwell gets ahead—A writer at the peak of her powers plots the ruthless ascent of Henry VIII's notorious fixer.

+ Interview: Hisham Matar—A deeply personal knowledge of Libya's troubled past sets the background for an author's fiction about a father's disappearance.

+ In the moment—Time itself never stands still, but a piece at the latest MCA exhibition has the power to stop people in their tracks.

+ Just add viewers—It seems we'll consume just about anything when it comes to culinary shows.

+ Come together—You don't need flutes and congas to make a '70s-style, rhythm-based record today. But it helps.

+ Madame had many faces—From shrewd businesswoman to deceitful tyrant.

+ Mixed company—Pairing unlikely ingredients can produce winning taste sensations.

+ Nature reigns after the deluge—A TV crew captures one of the world's great natural dramas in the Australian outback.

+ Lost along the way—As successful formulas go, it was a simple but effective one.

+ Throwing his hat in the ring—A maverick MP presents a passionate, moving and unsurprisingly idiosyncratic history of Australia.

+ Voyage into the seas of timeless myth—For the voyagers of Icelandic writer Sjon's newly translated novel, the medium of refraction is myth.

+ Battle of the runways as date change to Fashion Week ruffles feathers—IT WILL be a case of high heels at dawn next year after a date change announced yesterday for Fashion Week in Sydney ruffled stylish feathers down sou...

+ Prince charming shows some flaws—ONLY someone like Prince could start such a hugely anticipated show with an unknown member of his band playing on an acoustic guitar perhaps his bigge...

+ The honour roll—A portrait of a sushi master is more about family than food.

+ Cancan comes to Canberra with Toulouse-Lautrec show—THE dancers and drama of fin de siecle Paris will cancan into Canberra this year when the National Gallery of Australia launches a Henri de Toulouse-L...

+ Getting their acts together—Soul man Daniel Merriweather is spoiled for choice on the collaboration front.

+ Rage against the machines—Seekae are more than simply a laptop band.

+ The crasher—Germans are even funnier than Maradona's stage show.

+ Galleries and museums welcome budget windfall—THE arts budget has been welcomed across the sector, particularly the nearly $40 million to big cultural institutions.

+ Plenty of punches, but all the damage is done to the audience—SAFE

+ There's no bite in sight for this light fright of the night—DARK SHADOWS

+ Meanwhile, the plot thickens as budget matters add to the denouement—Arts budget has been welcomed across the sector, with nearly $40 million to cultural institutions.

+ Space: Cotton on—Shane Cotton will open his first Melbourne show in nearly two decades tomorrow at Anna Schwartz Gallery.

+ Mabo's story of sacrifice and love to premiere at festival—THE 20th anniversary of the historic Mabo decision will be commemorated with an emotional screening at the Sydney Film Festival next month.

+ Notes are just the starting point for this interpretative pair—JOE CHINDAMO is not averse to mischief. The pianist-composer loves playing Dolly Parton's Jolene to jazz audiences. And it is fair to assume that at l...

+ The hair, the tatts, the poses … making the ridiculous sublime—''GIVE me a D.'' Pause. ''Give me an Arkness.'' Yep, ridiculous, but true. Hilarious, and good. And that's pretty much a Darkness show - and for that ...

+ Why no-one says no to Stefan—When Lord Mayor of Ipswich Paul Pisasale went MIA on his RSVP to Stefan Ackerie’s annual Labour Day weekend party, the legendary hairdresser actioned ...

+ Ten anxious to learn if viewers still have taste for MasterChef—EXECUTIVES from Channel Ten will be nervously awaiting overnight viewing figures to learn if the launch of the fourth series of its blockbuster Master...

+ Big top meets Oz rock scores—National Institute of Circus Arts graduates made up a large portion of the six grand finalists with the focus being on original circus acts.

+ Canvas: Melba's throat must not be cut—Appeals have fallen on deaf ears, but the federal government's tightened purse strings must not reduce a classical music institution to silence.

+ Compositions awash with natural inspiration—Concluding this year's much-expanded Metropolis series from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, guests from Chicago - eighth blackbird - provided the co...

+ Fading memories given bright focus—A new play ponders the nature of ageing.

+ People power a pertinent performance—The idea was simple enough, the organisation must have been fraught but the result was extraordinary.

+ A rollicking whodunit will find bums on seats—THE BUGALUGS BUM THIEF

+ Buttons and bows lead the charge in Balkan revolt against US rock—FROGFEST

+ Filmmaker ready to learn from a master—A prize for a Melbourne filmmaker includes working with an acclaimed director to learn the tricks of the trade, writes Sacha Molitorisz.

+ Ten anxious to learn if viewers still have taste for MasterChef—EXECUTIVES from Channel Ten will be nervously awaiting overnight viewing figures to learn if the launch of the fourth series of its blockbuster Master...

+ MasterChef recap: Welcome back, you old thing—Masterchef

+ MasterChef recap: Welcome back, you old thing—Masterchef

+ In reality it's all about family at the Gold Coast—MEET the real ''Mozzies''. They are hard-working, dedicated to family and with a love for the outdoors.

+ Sky's the limit for Nazis on the moon—Comedy, sci-fi and war collide in Finnish director Timo Vuorensola's wacky cinematic mash-up.

+ NZ reality show makes waves on both shores of the Tasman—THEY'RE called Mozzies, they talk about bedding aunties, they wear stockings to cover up their tattoos to get into Surfers Paradise nightclubs and the...

+ 'Other people have an interest in your not writing. I was self-destructive, no questions.'—In the second part of The Sun-Herald's series on Australian literature, Gay Alcorn talks to Elizabeth Harrower, who was one of the country's most cele...

+ Old school great turned tables on rap—ADAM YAUCH was the raspy-throated rapper known as MCA of the Beastie Boys, the influential hip-hop group with a penchant to party and produce chart-to...

+ Holy Smoke: Sydney goes superhero crazy for free comics—Holy Smoke! The Ed wants to cover Free Comic Book Day...

+ Station heads for water cooler—SINKING money into new local productions and poaching the star of Seven's top-rating drama Packed to the Rafters, Ten is hoping to send a signal to th...

+ Ten in ratings race with MasterChef as Voice falls silent—THE VOICE triumphant. Australia's Got Talent mortally wounded. MasterChef enters the fray. When he wrote ''cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war'' Sh...

+ Tognetti adds another string to his bow—Richard Tognetti, the artistic director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, is almost lost for words as a case is opened and the violin within reveal...

+ Popcorn entertainment compromised by the small screen—When this film hit cinemas, director Brad Bird was effusive about the importance of audiences seeing it in a theatre.

+ At last, someone speaks for those who would rather not—"That silence is more profound after noise still wants the confirmation of science,'' wrote Virginia Woolf in Orlando.

+ Bad seed breeds dysfunction—An already damaged family falls apart after a stranger moves in.

+ Chop and change—Consumer concern for animal welfare is increasing demand for free-range and organic pork.

+ Elder sister out of sync with the world—Australian writer Louise Limerick's first novel centred on five thirtysomething mothers and a missing baby. Her second has been scaled down to a tale ...

+ Interview: Geoff Dyer—Recounting the journey of a seminal 1970s Russian art film, the author detours through his own experiences, pausing at regrets, pets and long-lost thr...

+ Making a statement—Some musicians exude a life force just through the sound they create on an instrument.

+ Genius lies in diversity—Is it really true that every musician has at least one great album waiting to be recorded? As the baby-boom generation moves into old age, its output ...

+ Stranger than fiction—In pubs, libraries and even living rooms, a new breed of storyteller is attracting audiences hungry for gripping tales - real and imagined.

+ Szulem's choice—A 'hidden child' of the Holocaust finds herself.

+ The agony and Aunty—Lost without Revenge? Sick of commercial TV? Try the parallel universe of the ABC.

+ Truth, lies and family secrets—Elizabeth Jolley's fiction echoed the complex relationships in her own life.

+ Twin desires lurk under the skin—The dramatic tale of a bisexual writer draws parallels with the life of its author.

+ Tognetti adds another string to his bow—''WOW.''

+ Ten hopes murder and cooking will breathe life into its ratings—By any measure, it's been a difficult year for the Ten Network, so the embattled broadcaster has begun looking to 2013 by commissioning a new 13-part ...

+ Cleese pitch no small beer—As PR pitches go, it was a bit like being locked in a cheese shop, fed a handful of cold gravel and being slapped across the face with a wet fish. But...

+ Shake, rattle and rap—Towards the end of 2011, stentorian tracks of indomitable hip-hop, penned by an apocryphal group known as Quakers, began to cut a swathe through the d...

+ Henry Rollins—There’s a touch more grey on top, and he’s just ticked over to 51 years of age, but Henry Rollins's spoken-word is as compelling as ever.

+ All-male troupe adds comic turns to ballet classics—HE CAN laugh about it now but it didn't seem so funny at the time.

+ Big ideas at heart of future of performing arts—From screen to stage, Bethwyn Serow's love of the arts began at an early age.

+ Some enchanted evening that still cuts deep—Our over-familiarity with the musical South Pacific may have caused us to skip over its ground-breaking themes, writes Steve Meacham.

+ One Direction tickets go stratospheric—ONLY hours after One Direction concert tickets went on sale yesterday, hundreds were being resold online for up to 12 times the retail price by ticket...

+ Voice a high note for struggling Nine—Will The Voice be enough to save the Nine Network from singing for its supper?

+ Fancy taking a leak on the Rolling Stones tongue?—A German couple have opened a museum devoted to legendary British rock band, the Rolling Stones, complete with urinals in the shape of the group's fam...

+ Craig Ferguson apologises to Australia—The US TV talk show host Craig Ferguson has apologised for dissing Canberra on his program.

+ Prised possession—They can be tricky to open but chestnuts reward the determined.

+ A fraction too much fiction—A sci-fi great's commentaries on society show even he could not predict this bizarre modern world.

+ Australia's 'twitterverse' explored—Modern storytellers share the early settlers' fascination with birds.

+ Chemical imbalance—Euphoria and despair collide in a drug-addled love story.

+ Clever tale of a cunning protagonist—This fictional debut begins with a conversation through the windscreen of a car that has crashed.

+ How we changed our tune—A book this judicious, novel and sophisticated is a rare and beautiful thing, much like its graceful subjects.

+ New directions—He's made his name reinventing the classics. She's never seen any of his plays. Simon Stone and Emily Barclay discuss Strange Interlude, soliloquies a...

+ Unusual territory—Mac Rebennack, aka Dr John, is 71 and some distance from his most commercially successful period.

+ Sound judgment—Talent shows are one thing but enough is enough when it comes to singing on our screens.

+ Strength in numbers—Disney needs help, and this entertaining bunch may just save the day.

+ Such wasted potential, cut down by imperial idealism—From a population of fewer than 5 million in 1914-18, 416,809 Australians enlisted for service in World War I. Of these, about 60,000 were killed.

+ Interview: Susan Swingler—An abandoned daughter seeks to dismantle the lies that cushioned Leonard Jolley and his wife, Elizabeth, miles away from the life - and family - they ...

+ The gentle revolutionary—Gunybi Ganambarr is taking the art world by storm, expressing ancient ideas with a surprisingly modern twist.

+ The parent trap—An Irish author explores literary opinions on those who give us life and will be the death of us.

+ Uncertain moments—The pieces rejected from the Archibald and Wynne prizes are spruiked as radical, but there's a lacklustre feel to this year's crop.

+ When the void is so overwhelming—Being in a state of grief after the death of a loved one is like having a large, charmless animal living in the house.

+ The Shire set for UK—Twenty years after Sylvania Waters, a new generation of Britons is set to become acquainted with a slice of Australian life in the Sutherland Shire.

+ Sorry Tania Zaetta, you're fired—Tania will use a bitter Celebrity Apprentice experience to become a better person.

+ Deep-fried fantasy—Fish and chips isn't all that's on the menu in Steve Rodgers's Food.

Last new 20/5/12 12:04am.